Mockingbird's Song
by David Falkayn
Summary: Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird, rejuvenated thanks to a combination of the super soldier serum and Kree technology, will find herself in Middleton as part of a SHIELD team tasked with keeping an eye on Kim Possible who will slowly find herself in waters over her head.
1. Chapter 1

Mockingbird's Song (Marvel/Kim Possible Crossover)

_**Earth-617**_

As the brilliant light bathed Bobbi Morse aka Mockingbird, the blonde West Coast Avenger vaguely heard her estranged husband, Clint Barton aka Hawkeye call out her name. Her lips turned up in a warm grin as she heard his final words of forgiveness to her, "I love you, Bobbi!"

"I love you too, Clint." Bobbi's lips moved, although no sound came out. Then, she was gone. Taken by Mephisto. Her life freely given in exchange for the life of her husband's.

Mephisto, while the master of a hell dimension, prided himself on honoring at least the letter of his agreements, if not necessarily the spirit. Yes, his toy's life on this Earth was now over, but, the demon lord was not finished with his fun. His lips turned up in an evil smirk, the devil king waved a gnarled hand, opening a portal. "You do not get to rest so easily, my lovely."

_**An alternate Earth—a point over the Pacific Ocean**_

"We can deactivate the stealth systems now." Shego smirked as she pressed a button turning off her the anti-detection systems of her superior's hover disk now gliding apparently unobserved through the air towards its destination. "Those Global Justice morons watching us were no challenge at all."

"Excellent, Shego." The blue-skinned man formerly known as Drew Lipsky before he turned mad and became known as the villain Dr. Drakken scowled as he fingered the scar below his eye. "Set course for the Nakasumi factory in Tokyo. We have a production line to steal."

As he uttered his orders, the hairs on the back of his lovely green-skinned companion's neck began to stand up. Sensing that she was being watched, Shego scanned the sky with an expert's eye, not relaxing until she was absolutely sure there was no one there. Then, carefully checking her radar and finding no sign of bogies, the supervillainess finally relaxed her guard.

"What is it, Shego?" Drakken, seeing his companion's consternation, inquired as he also rose to a heightened sense of alertness.

"It's nothing, Doctor." Shego answered back. "I just had a bad feeling that we were being watched, but I was mistaken—there's nothing there."

The mad scientist nodded his head approvingly at his henchwoman's awareness, "Paranoia is good."

"Yeah." Shego muttered under her breath as she once again scanned the skies, "It keeps me alive."

"_This is Alert-One to SHIELD Base. We picked up on the package lost by the junior varsity. What are your orders?"_

"_Good job, Alert-One."_ Deputy Director Maria Hill of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, better known as SHIELD, responded, _"Maintain surveillance of the package until it reaches its destination. A reception team is being put together for it."_

"_This is your lucky day." The pilot of Alert-One said to the targets he was following, "I had a laser guided missile ready to go with your name on it."_

_**Middleton High School, Colorado**_

"You're drooling, KP." Ron Stoppable grumbled as he watched while his best friend, Kim Possible, gaze intently on the retreating form of the object of her most recent crush, Josh Mankey.

"Huh? Wha…?" Kim stammered as she slowly and reluctantly regained control over her senses. "I can't even put two words together around him. How am I ever going to work up the nerve to ask Josh Mankey to the dance?" Kim lamented.

"Ummm…. Kim…." Ron stammered as he felt his heart once again beginning to break, "Don't you think it'd be kind of difficult for him to be there…with us?"

"What do you mean—us?" Kim replied.

Ron, not sure whether his friend was simply clueless or being deliberately oblivious as to his feelings towards her, replied, "Well…you know we always go together."

"Uhhhh…Ron…." Kim stammered, "I was thinking that this year…I know we always go as friends…" she said, emphasizing 'friends', "…but this year, I was thinking that I might want to line up a…uhhh…a date. With Josh Mankey."

His heart shattering, the blond teen put up a brave front as he spoke, "Oh…a date…yeah…" Ron exclaimed with false confidence, "I can do that…sure."

Once again unsure as to whether his friend was truly that ignorant as to his feelings or faking it, Ron heard her say, "Great! So…who are you going to ask out?"

"Rufus, I guess." Ron muttered under his breath as his friend's Kimmunicator beeped.

"What's the sitch, Wade?"

"Meet me at your locker." The image of an African-American boy appeared on the tiny screen of Kim's device.

"On our way." The young heroine responded as she made her way to her locker with her best friend close behind. Opening her locker to reveal a PC with monitor, along with pictures of Drakken and Shego, she blushed at Wade's praise.

"You wouldn't believe all the hits you're getting on your site from people asking for help!"

"No cats!" Kim declared as Ron joked about cat sitting for Mrs. Gilmore.

"Can't blame you for that." Wade responded as Ron pointed to another likely job.

"Hey…look…Tokyo!"

"This is an emergency." Wade announced, "Here…I'll stream it." He then admitted as his cheeks flushed, "I intercepted a Global Justice transmission."

"_Target has evaded surveillance. I repeat, target has evaded surveillance. Last known vector—Tokyo, Japan. Request permission to scramble tactical squad."_

"_Request denied." _A voice on the other end of the transmission replied with more than a touch of bitterness and frustration in his voice, _"Bogie has been picked up by the senior circuit. We've been waved off."_

"_Fuck!"_

"Language!" Ron laughed nervously as both Kim and Wade blushed at the utterance of the profanity.

"Sorry about that, Kim." Wade apologized.

"Nothing you could do about it." Kim replied with a nervous giggle, "It was a live transmission."

"Guess we're going to Tokyo." Ron surmised as his heartbeat raced in anticipation at going on a mission with his friend.

"Come on, Ron! Let's jet!"

_**Tokyo—the Nakasumi Building**_

"Sit-rep." Special Agent Garrett spoke into his radio as he crouched on the roof of the building next to the Nakasumi automatic factory.

"Sniper One…Got Blue in my sights."

"Sniper Two reporting…Cutie Pie's scoped and ready to be dropped."

"Hostages are locked in an utility room fifty meters down leftmost corridor."

Garrett took a deep breath, "All right people. This goes down quick and smooth. Snipers take your targets down when I give the word. Five…four…three…two…"

"Hold count!" The voice of one of the spotters came through the radio. "We have civilians in the facility."

"Say again." Garrett growled.

"We have civilians in the facility. Teenage girl with red hair wearing cargo pants and black tank-top with a backpack. Teenage boy wearing…boxer shorts! Boss…the kid's pantsless!"

Laughing in spite of himself, Garrett quipped, "Pantsless? Guess he couldn't wait to get some action from Red." Taking a deep breath, the SHIELD tactical commander instructed, "Okay team…this has gotten a lot more complicated. Instead of two hostages, we now have four. Do you still have clear shots on the targets."

"Negative on Blue. He's taken cover."

"Negative on Cutie Pie. She's mixing it up with Red. Can't risk the shot without possibly hitting the kid." A few moments later, the sniper reported, "Red's got some nice moves. Good kick there. Almost gave me a window on Cutie Pie, but she's got some smooth moves too. Good dodger. She's linked up with Blue. They've blown a hole through the roof and are extracting."

"Red and Pantsless have secured the hostages." The other sniper reported.

"All right, team." Garrett ordered through clenched teeth, "Regroup back at the safe house. I'll get statements from Nakasumi and the hostages and meet you back at the barn."

"We'll save a bottle for you." One of the members of the team joked.

"Better make it two." Garrett responded with a laugh, "Hill's going to love this!"

_**Secret Shield Facility—New Mexico Desert.**_

"Director Fury! A portal's opening!"

"Barton! I need you here with that bow of yours!" The dark-skinned one-eyed Director of SHIELD barked as a muscular blond haired man wearing a leather vest and pants and wielding a compound bow rushed up accompanied by a squad of black-suited SHIELD troopers armed with assault rifles.

"Take positions." Barton ordered as he knelt down in front of the portal approximately fifteen yards back. Notching an arrow and drawing back the bowstring, he nodded once at the Director.

"Don't shoot until I give the order." Fury commanded as he readied his pistol. A bright light bathed the room as the portal opened revealing the burned and scarred form of what looked like a woman. Staggering out of the portal, the woman dropped to the floor. "Medics!" The Director called out as a team rushed forward wheeling a cart with what looked at first glance to be a capsule or sarcophagus. Carefully placing her in the tube, the glass closed with a hiss, sealing the disfigured woman within the chamber. "Take her to TAHITI. I want our best people on this. I want to know who she is…where she's from…and what happened to her."

"It might take some time before we can interrogate her, Sir. She appears to be in a coma and looks like she has suffered severe plasma burns." A physician in the medical team reported, adding as a suggestion, "We can do a memory and genetic scan provided we are permitted to use the special technology."

"Do what you have to. You are authorized to use the special technology and the serum to tend to her injuries and carry out any necessary scans." Fury replied, deciding that the risk was worth it if he could gain insight into who this extradimensional visitor was..

"Understood, Director Fury."

Turning to Barton, Fury nodded his head once, wordlessly dismissing him and his team. Watching as the medics wheeled their cargo away, the one-eyed Director murmured to himself, "Who are you and why do I get the feeling that you're going to be important here?"

"Sir?"

Turning his attention to his right-hand woman, Maria Hill, Nick nodded his head, "What is it, Agent Hill?"

"There's been an incident in Tokyo. At Nakasumi's automated factory. It involves Dr. Drakken and a Possible sighting." The Deputy Director's lips turned down in a frown, "We had a strike team led by Agent Garrett ready to move, then her and her friend fouled it up. Drakken got away with the item."

"I thought we were going to let the farm team handle this." Fury replied with a touch of irritation in his voice, "Where was GJ?"

"Global Justice slipped up and both Drakken and Possible evaded their surveillance." Hill admitted, adding, "It appears Drakken has also brought on a somewhat competent assistant—a beta-level super named Shego. Here's her dossier." Hill handed her superior a tablet. "She could be potentially dangerous."

Perusing the information on the tablet, Fury nodded his head. "Interesting."

"Do you want me to alert the Widow, Barton, or Agent Ward to be ready to carry out a sanction on Shego and/or Drakken?" Hill asked in a flat tone of voice.

"No." Fury shook his head. "Not right now. This is Betty's baby. I'm betting that in about an hour or so there will be several GJ agents missing large hunks of their asses because in about ten minutes I'm going to take a big chunk out of her rear end. Let's give her another bite and see how she handles the situation. For now, we have bigger fish to fry than Drakken or Shego. If he or his assistant become real problems—then we'll sic Tasha on them."

"And Possible?" Hill inquired, adding, "She's only sixteen years old. She has no training and is frequently reckless. She's already gotten in the way of one of our operations. Sooner or later, she is going to get in over her head and as a result she and/or the people around her might well end up seriously injured or killed. Do we let her continue?"

"I'll let Betty make the call for now on that as well." Fury decided. "She's better informed as regards Possible and her capabilities. But…" The SHIELD Director conceded, "You do have a point regarding Possible's age and inexperience. We'll need to think about closer surveillance—if for no other reason than to protect her and those around her from herself."

_**Middleton, Colorado**_

"I'm sorry about messing things up in Tokyo." Ron Stoppable said, apologizing to his friend and teammate, Kim Possible as the pair made their way towards the front entrance of their school, Middleton High.

"You don't have anything to apologize for, Ron." Kim replied supportively. "We'll track Drakken down, get back Nakasumi-san's production line, stop whatever it is Drakken has planned, and make it back in time for the dance." Heaving a dejected sigh, she shook her head, "Now all I have to do is ask Josh Mankey to the dance.

"Still haven't worked up the guts to ask him out, huh, Possible?"

Turning in the direction of the smug voice, Kim gritted her teeth at the sight of her brown-haired rival, "I'll ask him out, Bonnie, when I'm good and ready."

"Yeah." The other cheerleader snorted, "Sure you will." She then smugly quipped, "Don't feel bad, Kimmie…he's already turned down girls higher up the food chain than you."

Gritting his teeth at the sight of his best friend seething as the barb sent by her rival hit home, Ron quipped back, "I guess he turned you down too."

"Loser!" Bonnie growled before stomping off.

A smile returning to her face, Kim said to the boy standing next to her, "Thanks, Ron."

"Any time, KP." Ron smiled back, "Best friends stick up for each other—right?" Not receiving a response, Ron repeated, "Right, KP?" Then, glancing at his friend, he saw that she was once again lost in a daze, her concentration solely focused on the boy of her dreams. Hiding his hurt and disappointment over his best friend's cluelessness behind a mask of goofiness and denseness of his own, Ron rushed up to Hope, one of the cheerleaders, who was walking down the hall with her fellow cheerleader, Marcella, "Hope? Would you…"

"Get lost, loser!" Hope sneered

"Marcell…"

"Not if you were the last boy on Earth, dweeb."

His hopes once again dashed, Ron turned around only to see Kim still longingly eyeing Josh Mankey who was at that moment talking with two other popular boys. "Come on, Rufus." Ron sighed as his naked mole-rat companion poked his head up out of his pocket, "Let's get to class. Face it Ron…" The blond teenager muttered to himself as he moped down the hallway to his homeroom class, "You've been friendzoned."

"Hey, Ron."

Looking up, Ron's lips turned up in a shy grin as he recognized Tara, the blonde-haired cheerleader. "Hey, Tara…" Stoppable replied and then, taking a deep breath, ventured, "Ummm…I was wondering if you would…you know…gotothedancewithme?"

Surprised by his request, Tara stammered back a reply, "Ummm…Ron…uhhhh…I thought you were going with Kim. I mean you two are always together—I thought you were going out. Uhhh…I wish you'd have asked me that yesterday. Jeff asked me out this morning. I'm sorry…but…if you want…" Her lips turned up in a shy smile, "You can walk me to class."

"Sure." Ron replied with a shy grin as he saw Kim still swooning over Josh. "I'd like that." As the pair walked down the hall together, the teenage boy thought to himself, _If I'd have been here instead of in Tokyo with Kim yesterday…I could be going to the dance with Tara instead of watching KP pine for Mankey._ Squaring his shoulders as the pair reached their classroom, Ron banished his doubts to the back of his mind, _Kim's my best friend no matter what she does or how badly she hurts me. I'll always be there for her._

_**Drakken's Hidden Lair**_

"I tell you, Shego…" Dr. Drakken boasted as he tinkered with his machines, "This plan cannot fail. With Nakasumi's production line now in my hands, I have everything I need to rule the world."

"You do realize…" Shego grumbled, "…that right now, SHIELD and the other heavy hitters aren't taking us seriously, don't you? We've just been dealing with Possible and those Global Justice dorks. We haven't had to take on any real threats. Although Possible has the potential of becoming a real problem." She added with equal parts admiration and concern.

"They will soon." Drakken replied menacingly. "They all will."

Shaking her head, the green-skinned supervillain rolled her eyes, "The moment Fury decides we're a problem, he's going to sic one or more of his troubleshooters on us. Are you sure that you're ready for that, Doctor? The Black Widow, the Cavalry, Grant Ward, and Hawkeye don't play by GJ or Possible rules. They're grown-ups. They play for keeps."

"That's why I hired you, Shego." Drakken huffed. "If they come, then you'll deal with them."

"Yeah." Shego responded in a soft voice. While part of her looked forward to the opportunity of matching her strength and skills against an assassin of the caliber and reputation of Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Grant Ward, or Melinda May—it would be the ultimate test of her talent and abilities, another part of her very much dreaded the likely outcome of that encounter—her bloody and mangled corpse lying on the floor with a bullet in the head, an arrow through the throat, her carotid artery severed by a knife, or a broken neck. If she had competent backup, Shego thought to herself, then yeah, she'd risk that confrontation. She then glanced at one of the henchmen Drakken had hired standing by the door picking his nose and, rolling her eyes, exhaled as she forced herself to face the reality of the situation—that she would not walk away from a fight with those hardened killers. She decided then and there that she was going to do everything she could to avoid ending up dead on the floor—even if it meant throwing the occasional bout with Possible and taking a dive. _Better the humiliation of losing to a teenage girl than lying dead at the Widow's or some other SHIELD assassin's feet. _The green-skinned villainess decided as she returned to reading her magazine.

_**Global Justice Headquarters**_

"Agent Du? Get your ass in my office—NOW!" A seething Dr. Betty Director ordered. Moments later, Agent Will Du, trying his best to maintain a stoic exterior while inside he was quivering as he got a good look at the angry expression on his superior's face, entered the Director of Global Justice's office.

"Doctor Director?" The agent reported in punctiliously.

"I want you and everyone involved in the Drakken and Possible surveillance operations in Conference Room One in ten minutes!" Doctor Director ordered, "And tell everyone to bring plenty of ice—you're all going to need it to apply to a certain part of your bodies after you hear what I have to say!"

Entering the conference room exactly on time, Dr. Director nodded her head in satisfaction as she saw that Du had carried out his task promptly—everyone involved in the recent fiasco was present standing at attention in front of their seats around the table. Striding to her place at the head of the table. Betty stood silently and glared at the targets of her ire for several moments before finally giving them permission to take their seats. Remaining on her feet as her agents sat down, the GJ head cleared her throat. "This morning, before I left for the office I weighed myself at 135 pounds. About twenty minutes ago, I again weighed myself. This time, my weight was 115 pounds. Would you like to know where those twenty missing pounds went? I'll tell you. I've just completed a video conference call with SHIELD Director Nicholas Fury. During that call, he chewed the missing weight from my ass. Now, it's your turn. The Drakken and Possible surveillances were both total clusterfucks. You call yourselves skilled and trained agents. You went through a rigorous training and education program designed to hone your instincts and abilities. All of you are supposed to be potential candidates to move up to SHIELD or SWORD one day. And you let a third-rate villain, his second-rate henchwoman, and an untrained sixteen-year old girl with her inept associate and a naked mole rat slip by you! And you wonder why SHIELD considers us the 'farm team'! I want surveillance tightened on Drakken and Possible. Find me Drakken's hidden lair and do it yesterday!. I want to know when Kim Possible goes to the bathroom to take a crap! Now—get your asses out there and do your damn jobs or I'll get people who will and you can go back to scratching your asses and guarding doors! Dismissed!"

_**TAHITI—A Secret SHIELD Facility in an Undisclosed Location**_

"Director Fury!" The physician in charge of treating the facility's newest patient called out as the SHIELD director approached him, "Come…I think you'll find what we've achieved with Subject Alpha most intriguing."

"All right." Fury nodded his head, "Let's see what you have."

The pair approached a tube containing the nude body of a blonde-haired young teenage girl. "Subject Alpha." The physician proudly proclaimed.

"I thought she was a fully grown woman." Fury exclaimed, "This girl's a teenager."

"Subject Alpha—based on the memory engrams we took off her scans and the genetic scans we took of her, is a human female, approximately twenty-six years old."

"Twenty-six years old." Fury snorted, "She looks like she's about sixteen."

"Physically…" The doctor nodded his head, "She is sixteen. She also possesses the hormones and other physical and possibly emotional aspects of an adolescent. But, going by our scans, mentally and experientially, she is a grown woman."

"So…she's still not conscious?"

"Not yet, but she's ready to awaken now."

"Good." The director nodded his head. "But first, I want to go over those memory engrams and other data."

"Of course, Director." The physician nodded his head, "I've taken the liberty of forwarding them to your office. You'll find them most interesting."

"I'm sure I will." Fury replied as he gestured for the doctor to accompany him. Walking down the corridor towards his office, the SHIELD director inquired, "So…what caused her rejuvenation?"

"We think it was a combination of the experimental serum and the alien technology used to heal her." The doctor replied. "We'll need to wait until she is conscious before we can run further tests though."

Reaching this office, Fury nodded his head, "Very good, doctor. Keep me posted and alert me when you're ready to revive her." Nodding his head at the physician's acknowledgement of his orders, Nicholas entered his office and sat down behind his desk. Slipping the disk containing the data into a slot, the director sat back and watched in fascination the scenes appearing on his monitor screen. Costumed figures engaged in battle…one of the fighters a dead ringer for Clint Barton. A woman wearing a blue and white one piece costume that showed plenty of leg—he assumed that was the young woman currently lying in the tube—kissing the Barton double. Then her pleading with what appeared to be a demon or monster to take her as a sacrifice in exchange for the life of the Barton double. And finally, a flash of light. After several moments, more memories appeared on the screen. Many of them involving interactions—some very intimate—with her universe's version of Clint Barton. It soon became obvious to the director that those two were very close to each other in the other universe. Other memories of her belonging to a team of superheroes very similar to the Avengers Initiative that he was considering also played on the monitor. He even saw her performing missions as an agent of that other universe's version of SHIELD, his lips turning up in a fond grin as he looked on at the craggy faced Caucasian male with what appeared to be permanent five o'clock stubble, salt and pepper hair, and an eye patch just like his who appeared on the screen giving orders to the blonde woman. "Must be my counterpart in her universe." He remarked to himself as he found himself nodding his head in approval at how professionally she conducted herself during her missions.

"Damn." Fury muttered as he poured whiskey from a bottle he had retrieved from a desk drawer into a glass. As he sipped the drink and played through what he had just seen, he recalled his earlier conversation with Maria Hill regarding the need to keep a closer watch on Kim Possible. "We'll have to see how things go when she regains consciousness. But…if she's half as good as what I'm seeing now…then I think I might have an idea."

"Director?"

"Yes?" Fury replied, speaking into the intercom on his desk.

"Subject Alpha is regaining consciousness."

"Excellent!" Fury replied. "I'm on my way!"

_**A/N: **__This is my first foray into writing Kim Possible. While I will be doing my best to keep to the spirit of canon as much as possible, this is very much an AU and there will be divergences—there are going to have to be to make the story work. One of my goals here is to add some complexity to Ron and Kim's relationship. Ron is feeling more than a little frustrated by Kim and really isn't sure if she's just clueless or deliberately trying to avoid dealing with the issue of his growing attraction towards her. This is going to cause some tensions between the two as Kim will have rivals for Ron's affections (Tara, for example) just as Ron will have competition from other boys. Both are capable of being more than a little selfish at times and needy—but then they are teenagers. At heart, both are good people and they do both care about each other very much—it's just that as often as not, they mess it all up one way or another._

_As regards Shego and Drakken: Drakken really doesn't grasp just how dangerous his situation could be if he ever does land on SHIELD's radar—something Shego is VERY aware of. Shego understands full well that her odds of survival should she ever end up confronting one of Fury's heavy hitters is somewhere between slim and nil and she will do everything she can to avoid that outcome. She's not a coward—but she is smart and she knows that the odds do not favor her in such a confrontation._

_I've given this story a T rating in that, while I do try to keep it to a minimum, there are situations where it makes sense for a character to drop the f- or s-bomb—but I do try to keep those occurrences as limited as possible._

_I hope you all enjoy this story and please let me know what you think._


	2. Chapter 2

"We've begun the resuscitation process, Director." The head physician announced as Fury stormed into the chamber. "We had no choice…she's regaining consciousness on her own. Delaying the process could have been dangerous."

"Understood." Fury nodded his head once and then commanded. "I want a security detail here—just in case."

"On their way, Director." The doctor replied as a nurse began calling out readings.

"Blood pressure and pulse rising. Respiration rate increasing."

"Disconnect all tubes but the intravenous." The doctor ordered. As soon as the nurse pushed a button, tubes connected to the young woman's body began retracting.

As the security team, led by Hawkeye entered the room and took their positions, the doctor commanded, "Open the tube."

"Take your positions." Hawkeye ordered as his team readied their weapons and he drew his pistol.

The tube opened with a hiss, gas escaping into the atmosphere. Moments later, the young blonde opened her eyes. Panicking as she found herself in the unfamiliar surroundings, she cried out, "Where am I? Clint? Clint!"

"Barton!" Fury shouted, "Go—you're a familiar face to her."

His eyes reflecting his doubt, the archer responded, "Familiar? How?"

"Later, Barton!" Fury growled, "Go to her and settle her down—NOW!"

"Clint?" The teenage girl said as she looked up and saw the ruggedly handsome face of the blond archer.

"It's me." Barton responded in a gravelly voice.

"The others…Jan…Hank…Tony…are they okay?"

"They're okay." Clint, not knowing who she was talking about, lied.

The relief at the news just given her obvious in her facial expression, the woman asked, "And Mephisto? Did we beat him? We close the portal to that hell dimension?"

"We clobbered him and closed that portal once and for all. Nothing's getting out to hurt anyone." Clint answered back, giving her the answer he thought she'd want to hear.

"Good. Then all the pain was all worth it. I'm sorry Clint…I'm sorry about…I wish…" The young woman smiled as her eyelids began to grow heavy. "Tired now, baby. Going to sleep. Give us kiss good night"

"You go on and sleep." The archer said in a soft voice, kissing the girl tenderly on the lips as she drifted off into slumber. "Pleasant dreams."

"I gave her a mild sedative through her intravenous connection." The doctor explained. "We should be able to move her to a private ward now."

"Do so." Fury ordered and then turned to his security chief, "I want a guard at her door 24/7 and let me know when she awakens."

Nodding his head, Barton gestured to one of his team. "On it, Sir." After a moment's pause, he demanded, "Now, will you tell me what the hell's going on here? Who is she and why does she recognize me? I've never seen her before."

"Come with me, Barton, and I'll explain." Fury commanded, gesturing for the archer to accompany him.

_**Middleton **_

"Okay, girls!" Kim exclaimed with a big smile on her face as she spoke to her fellow cheerleaders in the gym. "We almost had it there. Tara? That was a good job with the split, but can you maybe toss in a bit of shoulder action with the opening cheer?"

"Sure." Tara responded with a grin.

"Okay…" Kim directed as she signaled Marcella to push play on the machine, "Let's run it through again." Then, noticing Josh watching from the stands, the redhead's heart skipped a beat as the music began to play. It was at that moment that Ron decided to make his entrance.

Dashing theatrically into the gym, Ron exclaimed at the top of his voice, causing his best friend to blush a deep crimson, "Attention to all girls and Josh Mankey! This is the one and only Ron Stoppable here to announce that he is NOT dating Kim Possible which is good news for you, Josh, my man! And to all you lovely ladies—this means that there's a rare hole in my otherwise busy social calendar this Friday and I am here to tell you that I am a bon-diggedty dancer! Thank you very much. My social secretary Rufus will take down the names of anyone interested in going to the dance with the incomparable Ron Stoppable."

As the cheerleaders giggled, Ron couldn't help but notice how Kim had covered her face with her palm while lowering her head. _Damn. I did it again. Me and my big mouth._ Then, glancing at Tara's tentative wave, Ron's spirits raised slightly as he returned her wave with a slight smile just as his Kimmunicator beeped. Glancing down at it, he read Wade's text. "Kim?" He called out just as his friend had instructed her fellow cheerleaders to segue into a doghouse pyramid, "It's for you. It's Wade."

Dashing to her friend, Kim took the device and spoke into it, "Yeah, Wade. What's the sitch?"

"Got a hot tip about the Nakasumi heist." The African-American techie answered back, "Can you cut practice?"

Glancing back, Kim shook her head as she saw Ron dancing wildly to the music, all sense of rhythm lost in a flurry of arms and legs. "I'd rather be anywhere but here." She sighed.

"Get to your locker. I've intercepted another GJ transmission."

"On my way."

Spotting Kim dash out of the gym out of the corner of his eye, Ron took off after her, catching up to her as she rounded the corridor. "Kim…wait up!"

Pausing for a moment, Kim waited for her friend to join her. "Hurry up, Ron. Wade's got some info for us."

"Okay, KP." Ron replied and then inquired as the pair drew closer to her locker, "What did he find?"

"He said he intercepted another GJ transmission." Kim answered back as she opened the locker to reveal her computer with Wade's face on the monitor.

"Wait one and I'll stream the transmission for you." Wade instructed as the transmission played.

"_Got 'em!"_

"_Tell me you found Drakken's lair Unit One?"_

"_That's an affirmative, Base. Mountain lair in the Alps approximately a hundred klicks from the Swiss border."_

"_Great! I'll pass the word on and we'll get a strike team mobilized. Maintain position and monitor."_

"_Affirmative, Base."_

"_Good going, Team One. We bring in Drakken and Shego, that should show the seniors what we can do."_

"Who are these seniors?" Kim mused, "That's the second time we've heard that word used by GJ."

"I dunno." Wade responded

"Maybe they have grades like we do." Ron quipped, half joking, half serious.

"That's a possibility." Kim allowed, nodding her head thoughtfully. "Global Justice might have someone higher up the food chain than them." _Subject for another time_. The redhead said to herself as she exclaimed, "Well…we better get moving if we're going to get Nakasumi-san's production line back and stop whatever it is Drakken and Shego are scheming." She then turned her attention back to the techie on the screen, "Wade? Can you score us a ride? Please and thank you."

"Not a problem, Kim." The African-American boy responded, "Should be ready when you are."

"Let's go, Ron!"

_**Global Justice Headquarters**_

"Possible's on the move." A technician reported from her monitor.

"Where's she going?" Betty Director replied as she hunched over the technician's shoulder and gazed at the monitor.

"Alps." The technician responded. "Her tech apparently scored her a charter jet bound for Zurich—don't ask me how. She's supposed to be met by a taxi that will then take her to a village near the Swiss-German border."

"How long will it take our tac team to arrive at the lair?"

"She'll beat them by at least ten minutes." The technician responded with a grimace. "We had problems getting clearance from the Swiss government—you know how the Swiss are about their neutrality. She was already airborne and on her way by the time the diplomats got things sorted out."

"Figures." The Director shook her head. "Fury doesn't have to jump through all these diplomatic hoops." Sighing, Betty patted the technician once on the shoulder, "Good job. Keep me updated."

_**TAHITI**_

"Come in, Barton." Fury directed as he gestured for the archer to enter his office and then nodded his head towards a chair in front of his desk. "Have a seat. Drink?"

"Thanks." Clint replied as Nicholas poured whiskey into two glasses.

"Here." The Director handed one of the glasses to his guest as he sat down behind his desk. Turning the monitor around so that Barton could see the image on the screen. "You might find this interesting." He said as he played the memory engrams from the teenage girl.

Raising an eyebrow, Clint remarked, "So…she thinks she's from another universe…"

"She is from another universe." Fury corrected. "Take a look at those genetic scans."

"Okay…" Clint said as he perused the data on a second screen. "Hmmm…I'm no scientist, but a couple of these readings appear to be off."

"There's a 0.000000001degree of difference." Fury stated. "The only reason why we picked up on it was because we used alien technology. She's human—just not from around here."

"And where she's from there's another Clint Barton." Hawkeye shook his head in disbelief. "And we're supposed to know each other? I've never met her before."

"The Clint Barton in her universe knew her." The Director again corrected. "And…as you can see…quite well."

"Yeah." Clint blushed as an intimate encounter played itself out on the screen. "Damn well…" Taking a sip of his whiskey he asked, "Why are you showing me this?"

"I want you to get close to her…"

"Director…" Hawkeye shook his head, "You know I'm married with a pair of kids. You want a seduction—get Ward or some other pretty boy to do the job."

"I'm not asking you to do that." Fury growled, "You're the only point of reference she has here. The only thing familiar to her. Probably the only person she might trust. Be there to reassure her. To help her adjust. She was a SHIELD agent where she was from—a damned good one from what I've seen from those memories. If we can get her acclimated, I think I have the perfect job for her."

"Okay…" Barton nodded his head, "That I can do. When do I start?"

"As soon as she wakes up."

_**The Alps**_

"Told you it was cold, Rufus!" Ron joked to his shivering naked mole-rat companion. "Next time you'll think twice before going out in sub-zero weather in your birthday suit!"

"Okay…" Kim interrupted, "What do we know?"

"Right." Ron said through clenched teeth, "Subject: Joshua Wendell Mankey."

"I meant what do we know about Drakken's lair!" Kim sighed and then exclaimed, "Wait! His middle name's Wendell?"

"Maybe." Ron shrugged his shoulders.

"You've done your research." Kim remarked with just the faintest note of sarcasm in her voice.

"Well…if you don't want to hear the rest of the report…"

"Go ahead." Kim sighed. "I assume it's gossip you've heard around school."

"Of course." Ron replied and then recited from memory his conversation with Tara, "Mankey's bounced requests to go to the Spirit Dance from Courtney Luke, Maria Rodriguez, Natasha Putin—no relation to the Russian guy, Julia Roberts—no relation to the actress, and…" His lips turned up in an evil grin, "Bonnie Rockwaller."

"Josh bounced Bonne?" Kim chuckled.

"And Bonnie spiked me—so did the other girls." Ron replied with an audible groan.

"Thanks, Heinrich." Kim said as their ride announced their arrival near the entrance to Drakken's lair. Turning to her companion, she asked, "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Ron replied before speaking to his pet, "You ready to go, Rufus?"

"Okay, Wade…" Kim said speaking into her Kimmunicator, "Talk to me."

_**TAHITI**_

"Hey." Clint smiled as he walked towards the blonde teenager lying in the hospital bed. "How're you doing?"

"Clint?" The girl opened her eyes, her lips turned up in a slight smile as she recognized the form of her estranged husband. "No…not my Clint."

"No." Barton shook his head, "I'm not your Clint. But I am Clint Barton."

"You don't even know me do you?"

"I'm sorry." Clint shook his head, "We've never met."

"Your loss." The girl managed a weak chuckle.

"Yeah." Clint laughed, "So…what is your name?"

"Bobbi." The girl responded, "Bobbi Morse."

"Well…" Clint smiled, "Hello Bobbi Morse."

"Hello Clint Barton." Bobbi laughed in response. "Ummm…was the guy in the eyepatch who called himself Nick Fury telling the truth? Am I in another universe."

"Yes." Barton nodded his head, "You are. And he is Nick Fury—this universe's version at least."

"I see." Bobbi sighed, "And the Avengers?"

Shaking his head, Clint replied, "There are no Avengers."

"Thor?"

Clint shook his head

"Wasp?"

Again Clint shook his head.

"Captain America?"

"Yeah." Barton replied, "There was a Captain America. He died when the plane he was on crashed in the Arctic, I think. It was towards the end of the Second World War."

"He's not dead." Bobbi smirked, "Steve's too ornery to die. I got a feeling he'll pop up sooner or later. Probably...knowing Steve…when we need him most." She then threw out another name, "What about Tony Stark?"

"Yeah." Clint nodded his head, "There's a Tony Stark here. Rich industrialist. He got kidnapped in the Middle East and just recently escaped."

"Well…" Bobbi chuckled, "At least some things are the same. Tony's still finding ways of getting into trouble."

"You know Tony Stark?" Clint inquired.

"My universe's version of him." Bobbi nodded her head, "Yeah. Rich…playboy…genius…general pain in the ass."

"Yeah." Barton laughed, "That's what I've heard about him."

"What are they going to do with me?" Bobbi asked. "I'm guessing you can't get me back home."

"I don't know." Clint admitted, "I guess all that'll be up to Director Fury. Don't worry about that right now. Just concentrate on getting better."

"Right now, I'm feeling antsy." Bobbi complained, "I don't know what you guys did to me when you healed me, but I'm feeling supercharged. I've got so much energy that if I don't' let it loose, I think I'll explode."

"I'll tell the Boss that." Barton smiled, "For now though…" He said as a nurse came in with a tray of food, "Looks like it's time for your dinner. I'll see you later."

"Yeah." Bobbi smiled back, "I'd like that."

"So, Agent Barton…" Director Fury inquired, "What do you think?"

"I think she's itching for action, Sir." Clint replied, pleading her case. "She realizes that most likely she's not going back to her home again and wants to feel useful. I say give her the chance."

"You've only talked to her once and you're already sure about her?" Fury observed with a skeptical look on his face.

"I didn't say put her on a sensitive mission, Sir." Barton answered back, "Try her out on something safe—or relatively safe—I don't think she'll be too happy if you put her behind a desk shuffling papers all day. Give her something that will challenge her and keep her from climbing the walls."

Nodding his head, Fury replied, "Remember when I told you I had a possible assignment in mind for her if she worked out?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well…" Fury drummed the desk for several seconds as he considered his decision, "…put her through her paces through the rest of the week. At the end of that time, if you think she's mission ready, let me know and I'll find something for her to do."

_**Drakken's Lair**_

"Okay…" Wade instructed, "I've hacked into Drakken's security system, but it's a tough nut to crack. He's got sensor beams that will sound an alarm if you trip them. I can't deactivate them, but I can feed the frequency to you so that you can see them."

"Please and thank you, Wade." Kim said as crisscrossing red beams appeared in the hallway. "Okay, Ron…we've got to get across without touching any of those beams. Got it?"

"Got it, KP." Ron replied with a goofy grin.

"Okay…let's do this." Kim said as she skillfully navigated her way through the narrow openings in the grid, pausing every so often to hold her breath as it looked like her companion was about to trip an alarm.

"Woah!" Ron gasped as he momentarily stumbled, recovering just before he tripped a beam of light.

"Watch it, Ron!" Kim hissed, "One time's all it takes."

"I know, KP." Ron replied, his face growing crimson with embarrassment. After a couple of other near misses, the pair reached the end of the corridor only to have Rufus choose that moment to come out of Ron's pocket at just the right angle to barely cross one of the beams. As the alarm sounded, both teenagers glared at the little mole-rat.

"Oh crap!"

Shego, her eyes watering from the stench, tried her best to hold her breath as she quipped, "Damn, Princess! What crawled up your asshole and died?"

"What? No! It wasn't me! I didn't!" Kim responded as she and her companion took advantage of the stink cloud diversion to make their escape, "And Eeewww…."

Watching as the two teenagers made their escape, Shego briefly considered pursuing them before shaking her head, "Nah…I did my part for the cause. I'm outta here. Damn, I reek. Gonna take extra scrubbing to wash out the smell from Possible's fart cloud." Raising her voice, she shouted, delivering one final taunt to her teenaged foe, "Next time lay off the bean burritos, Kimmie!"

Dashing into a large chamber, Kim and Ron paused for a moment to catch their breaths. "Good job, Ron!" Kim gasped, praising her friend. "You too Wade."

"Hey!"

Smiling at the naked mole-rat, Kim apologized, "Sorry, Rufus. You too."

"Ah…my arch-enemy and the idiot."

"Drakken." Kim said through pursed lips.

"I knew it!" Ron cried out triumphantly, "He's going to try to steal Christmas!"

"Not even close, dumbass!" Drakken snorted.

"You owe me a grande plate at Bueno Nacho." Kim quipped triumphantly, "Told you it was a take over the world thing."

"Pity you won't be able to enjoy your nachos, Kim Possible." Drakken sneered, "Behold the power of my Robo-warrior!"

"Konnichiwa!"

"Shit." Ron muttered under his breath as his eyes took in the sight of the giant robotic killing machine. "Ideas, KP?"

"Wade?" Kim shouted into her Kimmunicator as the two teenagers barely dodged a blow from the giant robot. "Tell me you've got something!"

"I've got something." Wade said as Kim picked herself off the floor.

"Great!" Kim replied as she helped her companion up. "How you doing, Ron?"

"Ummm…still alive!" The blond teen said as the pair avoided an energy blast from the robot at the last moment. "So's Rufus."

"Still with us, Kim?" Wade's voice came through the Kimmunicator.

"Still kicking." Kim replied as she and Ron ducked behind a wall to catch their breath.

"Okay…here's the deal. That robot used to be an assembly line. Nakasumi-san installed an override module. Get to the module…"

"And we can switch the damned thing off." Kim finished.

"Right." Wade replied.

"Ron?" Kim said as she turned to her friend, "I need you to serve as a…"

"Distraction." The blond teen sighed as he readied himself. "On it, KP."

"Hey!" Ron shouted as he jumped out of cover into the open, "Big guy!"

"Konnichiwa."

"Damn…damn…damn…damn…damn!" Ron cursed as he repeatedly dodged the blows from the giant robot while Kim silently slipped into position to strike.

"Found the override, Wade!" Kim called out triumphantly.

"Yes!" Wade exclaimed as his screen came to life. "Okay…what's the password?"

"Faster, Wade!" Kim pleaded as she and Ron barely dodged the robot's giant fists.

Smirking in triumph at the sight of his foes near defeat, Drakken gloated, "You should have stuck to babysitting, Kim Possible. You might have lived longer."

"Wade?" Kim cried out, picking herself up off the floor as she wiped a trail of blood from her lips. "Now would be a good time."

"I'll second that!" Ron screamed as he ran zig-zagging from the giant killer robot.

"Got it!" Wade exulted, inputting the shutdown code as Kim flipped the switch.

"And now…" Kim smirked as she looked down at deactivated robot and then at the quivering form of Dr. Drakken, "…we finish the job."

"You think you're all that, Kim Possible." Dr. Drakken grumbled as Kim tightened the bonds restraining the mad scientist, "But you're not."

"Good news…" Ron smirked, "We stopped Drakken and saved Christmas. Bad news…Shego got away."

"Yeah…" Kim said glumly as she nodded her head, "We beat the bad guy. That was easy. Asking Josh Mankey to the dance…that's gonna be hard."

_**TAHITI**_

"I think that's enough for now." Clint said as he stepped back and lowered his bo-stave. "You're good with that thing—not to mention the sticks."

"Thanks." Bobbi replied, "But I was a little slow blocking your last attack. I'm gonna need to improve on that before taking on any serious oppo."

"We'll work on that." Barton assured "How about some range time?"

"Sounds good." Bobbi nodded her head in agreement. "I want to work on my throwing and marksmanship."

"Well…" Clint said as he placed a friendly arm around the shoulders of the teenage girl, "Let's get started."

"Oh…" Bobbi asked as the pair walked out of the gym, "How's my costume coming along?"

"Almost done." Clint replied with a grin. "It's looking good. We've added a few things—ballistic weave and it's made of a material that's resistant to piercing and slicing damage. Won't stop a high-powered round or arrow from a compound bow or a combat knife from penetrating, but it'll mitigate the damage and will stop a 9mm pistol round and turn a small blade. Also sheer stockings that are also ballistic weave. Not as protective as the rest of the costume, but better than going bare-legged. You'll also like the wrist launchers. Our techs were able to construct them to your specs. Should allow you to swing from building to building nice and smooth."

"Great." Bobbi smirked, "Got the idea from the Widow's…my universe's Black Widow's, that is. A lot better than lugging around a grappling gun and hook and line."

Some time later, after the pair had finished their time at the range, Clint escorted his companion back to her room. "You're pretty good with those throwing knives and shuriken and you're damned accurate with a pistol."

"Thanks." Bobbi smiled, "And I see you've got my…you've got my Clint's talent with a bow."

As they reached her quarters, Clint ushered the young woman in. "Ummm…you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but…what happened between you and the me from your universe? I know it must have been pretty bad. I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, but if you want to…well…Laura's always telling me that I'm a good listener."

"Sounds like you've got a helluva a wife." Bobbi's lips turned up in a sad smile, "A better wife than me—that's for sure. No…" Bobbi said as she motioned for her guest to have a seat and then poured both of them a glass of water, "That's okay. I think I can talk about it now, but it's a long and pretty ugly story."

"I've got the time." Clint said as he settled in. "And don't worry about how bad it gets…no judging here. You know what they say about glass houses and all."

Taking a deep breath, Bobbi related the entire tale of her relationship with her universe's Hawkeye. "Well…we got married a little after we met—it was one of those 'love at first sight' sort of things." She smiled winsomely, "For a while, everything was good. He got me into the Avengers and we lived at Tony's mansion and then moved west to start a west coast branch of the team. That's when things began to go south." She frowned as she took a sip of water while Clint waited patiently for her to continue. "So…we traveled back in time—don't ask me how, I still haven't wrapped my mind around that yet and I've been an Avenger for a couple of years now, so I've seen just about everything. Anyway, one of the 'heroes'—and I use that term VERY loosely—of that time, called the Phantom Rider, kidnapped, drugged, and brainwashed me into falling in love with him and cheating on my Hawkeye…"

"You didn't really cheat on him, you know." Clint interjected, "You were brainwashed—you weren't in control of your facilities. You were…"

"I was raped." Bobbi flatly stated. "And on a rational level, I know Hawk understood that. But it hurt him—I could see it in his eyes even if he never said anything about it and never accused me of cheating. But…" She sighed, "That's not what really tore our marriage apart. I'd like to think that we would have gotten through that. It was what I did to the Rider. I was mad…so mad…" She shook her head. "I wanted…"

"You wanted payback." Clint nodded his head in understanding, "Can't say I blame you. That Phantom Rider did a number on you. It's only natural for you to want to even the score."

"Yeah." Bobbi sighed, "Problem was that the Avengers had a code and my Clint was pretty strict about it at the time." Shaking her head, a note of bitterness entered her voice, "Funny when you take into account his roots—he was partners with the Black Widow before she went to work for SHIELD and if your Tasha is anything like mine—you know what that means." She tilted her head to the right as her lips turned up in an ironic grin, "He's got plenty of red ink on his ledger—about as much as I do."

"Maybe that's why he was so hard on you." Clint noted, "He was projecting his own issues on to you. Maybe also, he was putting you up on something of a pedestal. Speaking from experience, I have a bad habit of doing both those things—at least Laura says I do."

"Maybe." Bobbi shook her head. "In the end, I didn't actually kill the Rider, but I didn't do anything to save him when he took a swan dive off a cliff either."

"Sounds to me like you let Darwin sort it out." Clint noted, "Nothing for you to be ashamed of there."

"I guess so." Bobbi replied, "It still kinda hung over us—you know like that dark cloud that hangs over the shlubby character in a cartoon. The one that's either raining on him or about to rain on him…"

"Yeah." Clint's lips turned up in grin, "I think I know what you mean."

"Anyway…" Bobbi finished, "He filed for divorce before…well before I ended up here. And there you have it." She remarked with a wry grin, "The Bobbi Morse aka Mockingbird story—warts and all. So…"

"I think you went through some bad shit and came through it like a champ." Clint responded. "I'd feel good with you watching my back and you'd be a welcome addition to my team anytime and for any mission."

Smiling warmly, Bobbi remarked, "Tell your wife she's right. You are a good listener. Also tell her from me that she's one lucky woman." She then called out as the archer left her room, "And tell Fury to put me to work."

_**Middleton High**_

"What's wrong, Kim?" A concerned Ron Stoppable asked as he noted the troubled look on his friend's face. "Drakken's in a jail cell. Shego's laying low. Christmas is saved. What's the problem?"

Sighing, Kim moaned, "Once again…Drakken wasn't trying to steal Christmas! Second, taking down Drakken was easy compared to this."

"Don't you think you're being a little overdramatic here, Kim." Ron bit back, allowing a little of his frustration to seep through. "If you can take down an evil supervillain, then you can ask…" he said through clenched teeth, "…Josh Mankey…out on a date."

"Kim?" Wade's voice came through the Kimmunicator, "Target has just left third period and is headed your way."

"Huh?" Kim started, choosing to ignore her friend's growing irritation.

"I've tracked Subject Mankey via GPS satellite. He's passing the gym.

"Oh my God!" Kim gasped.

Ron then muttered, the double meaning of his statement readily apparent to anyone paying attention, "Crossing a line here."

"No…" Kim shook her head, her confidence waning by the moment, "I can't do this!"

"Target is on the move. Four…three…two…one…he's on top of you!"

"I give up!" Kim sobbed, dashing into the janitor's closet as she spotted her crush out of the corner of her eye drawing closer to her.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Ron muttered under his breath as he followed his friend into the closet, "Somebody shoot me now." Then, taking another breath, he muttered, "She's your best friend, Ron…you know what you have to do. So…suck it up and get it done."

"You can do this Kim." Ron said in an upbeat and reassuring tone, "You're Kim Possible. You can do anything."

"You're right, Ron." Kim said as she squared her shoulders, "Thanks! You're a good friend."

"Yeah." Ron grumbled as Kim exited the closet, closing the door behind her. "A good friend." Then, seeing the door closing shut, he called out, "Kim! Wait!" only to have the door slam shut and click in his face. Trying the handle, he found the door locked. "Someone…" He called out in vain, "Anyone." Not hearing any answer, the forlorn young man slumped down the floor, "Well…shit."

_**TAHITI**_

"Agent Morse. Agent Barton." Fury nodded his head in greeting as Bobbi and Clint entered the SHIELD Director's office. "Have a seat." He instructed, gesturing to the two chairs in front of his desk. "I've read your report on Agent Morse's readiness, Agent Barton, and, after observing several practice sessions myself, I concur with your conclusions. Agent Morris, I am certifying you as fit for active duty effective immediately." Sliding two manila folders across his desk, he announced, "I have your first mission for you. Go ahead and open the folders."

Bobbi opened her folder. The first page revealed a picture of a redheaded teenage girl, age sixteen, with green eyes and an infectious grin. The second page showed pictures of what were most likely her parents and twin brothers. The third page was that of a young man with freckles and blond hair, and the fourth page that of a chubby African-American boy. Then she noticed a picture of a woman with green-tinted skin and black hair and a man with blue skin and a scar under his eye.

"The young girl's name is Kim Possible and the pictures after that are of her parents, James and Anne Possible and her twin brothers. The boy in the next picture is her best friend, Ron Stoppable."

"Wait a minute." Bobbi chuckled, "Their last names are actually Possible and Stoppable?"

"Yeah." Nick laughed. "Both Eastern European descent. You know the drill. Their great-great-grandparents landed on Ellis Island and some bored clerk with a stupid sense of humor decided that their real last names were too difficult to spell and pronounce, so he tagged them with those names as a joke and they stuck."

"So…what's my mission? Observation?"

"Basically…yes." Fury nodded his head. "And protection and, if necessary, intervention. She has a penchant for getting herself and her friend into tight spots. Here's the Global Justice file on her latest incident involving Nakasumi Industries and their automated production line."

After carefully reading the case notes, Bobbi shook her head, "She's reckless…going up against a powered individual, a lunatic, his henchmen—no matter how stupid they seem, and his hyped up robot with only her wits, some pretty good raw talent, an admittedly ingenious stink bomb, and a totally untrained civilian. Tell me she at least has some tech backup."

"She does…more or less." Nick replied. "She has technical support from a pretty damned sharp hacker kid named Wade Lode. He's the one who came up with that stink bomb. Also, he was the one that figured out how to take that tin can down. He's also hacked into Global Justice's systems and has tried, more than once, to hack into ours. We've managed to shut him down, but sooner or later, I'm afraid he's going to get through. Then, I'm going to have to make a hard call."

"Bring him in or enact security protocols." Bobbi nodded her head. "Yeah…curiosity can kill the hacker. So…primary mission observation and protection and secondary mission intervention if she gets in over her head. Which…if this file is anything to go by…she most likely will."

"That's it in a nutshell." Fury nodded his head in confirmation. "Your cover will be that of an emancipated minor whose parents have recently died in an accident abroad and have endowed you with a healthy trust fund that permits you live on your own. That will free us from the added complexity of having to provide you with cover parents or guardians. We've purchased a house for you equidistant from both the Possible and Stoppable residences and you'll find it fully furnished for you. The house also has a basement armory and gym and is equipped with the most advanced computers and a SHIELD wireless connection. You've been enrolled in the sophomore class at Middleton High where your targets are also sophomores. You start school on Monday."

"Better stock up on coffee and donuts." Bobbi chuckled, "I lived off those in school." She then inquired, "And Agent Barton? How does he fit in?"

"Agent Barton's cover will be that of your out-of-town graduate student boyfriend. That will give him a reason to be at your place when necessary without raising undue suspicions." Fury explained.

"Always did have a thing for older men." Bobbi quipped as Clint snorted a laugh.

"Finally…" Fury declared as he set a suitcase on his desk and opened it. "Your costume and a few other items."

Perusing the contents of the suitcase, Bobbi's lips turned up in appreciation as she saw a dark, almost midnight-blue and white maillot costume, a white mask with midnight-blue trim, and dark, almost-midnight blue, thigh-high boots. Nodding her head approvingly, Bobbi fingered the wrist launchers and then nodded appreciatively at the throwing knives and shuriken and the two fighting sticks. Taking them out of the case, she easily slapped the two sticks together to form a bo-stave and then, giving herself enough room, did a quick kata.

"Nice." She commented as she separated the sticks and returned them to their housings in the case. Then, spotting the last item, she took the Sig Sauer P220 10mm pistol out of its holster and, after taking out its magazine and clearing the weapon, carefully inspected it. Liking what she saw, she slapped the magazine back into its housing and then replaced the weapon in its holster. "Thank you for making me feel useful, Director Fury."

"From what I've seen, you're a good operative, Agent Morse. I'd be stupid to waste such a valuable asset as yourself. One other thing…" He added, his lips turning up in a slight grin, "Your codename from here on out will be Mockingbird. Good luck and good hunting."

As Wade monitored the Global Justice transmissions, a text communique that crossed the screen at once caught his interest. As he read the message, his eyebrows rose:

_Mockingbird arriving tonight. Senior circuit operation. Do not interfere._

"Who or what is Mockingbird?" Wade asked himself as he pondered the message.

_**Middleton High**_

Hearing the sound of music playing and people laughing, Ron once again banged on the door and called out only to have no one respond. "This has got to be the worst week in my life." The young man lamented to his pet mole-rat who tried in vain to comfort him by nuzzling up to his cheek. "I bet Kim's out there now dancing and having a great time with Josh. Everyone is but us. Sometimes I wish Shego had just gone on ahead and killed me when she had a chance or that giant robot had flattened me. You know, old friend…there are times I really wish I'd never been born."

The music eventually died after what had seemed to be hours had passed, the young boy, now drifting off to sleep, still trapped in his makeshift cell was startled to wakefulness as he heard voices coming from the other side of the door.

"I'm sure there's a mop and bucket in the janitor's closet. I'll get it."

"Thanks, Tara! We'll get started picking up the trash."

Moments later, Ron's heart raced as he heard a click as the door handle turned and the door opened up to reveal Tara, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.

"Ron?" The surprised blonde cheerleader exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"I got locked in earlier in the afternoon." Ron sheepishly admitted as he exited the closet.

"My God!" Tara gasped, "No one knew you were missing! Not even your parents or Kim?"

"My parents are gone on a cruise." Ron confessed, "And Kim was the one who accidently locked me in."

"What?" Tara exclaimed in disbelief, "Didn't she even check up on you?"

"She left with Josh Mankey." He lowered his head, "I guess she forgot about me."

"I'm sorry, Ron." Tara replied in a soft voice. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry about it." Ron said as he tried to put a bright spin to it, "It's okay. She was just preoccupied."

"I still think it's shitty what she did." Tara declared.

"No big." Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Like I said, she had other stuff on her mind." He then inquired, "I thought you went to the dance with Jeff?"

"I did." Tara affirmed, "Wish I didn't. Jerk. Couldn't keep his hands off me. Added to that, he bailed once the words 'clean up' were mentioned. So did just about everyone else. Me, Maria, and Courtney are the only ones here."

"Where's Kim?" Ron asked, "She's always the first to volunteer for this type stuff."

"She's not here. Surprised me too—she's usually good about pitching in. But then…" Tara remarked acidly, "After what she did to you, I shouldn't be surprised."

"Possible left with Mankey at the end of the dance." Maria interjected as she joined the conversation. "Couldn't take her big eyes off him the entire time. I tell you, I've seen stuck before…but…she's got it bad."

Tara then filled Maria, and later, Courtney, in on what happened with Ron and the closet. After the other two girls had offered their sympathies, Tara said, "I don't blame you if you want to go home now, Ron, you've had a rough time of it, but if you'd like, you can stick around with us and help clean up."

"God knows we could use the help!" Maria exclaimed.

"Afterwards, we're gonna go to Edna's All-Nite Diner for coffee and a late-night snack." Tara offered, "You're welcome to join us—my treat."

His lips turning up in a smile, Ron replied, "Thanks. Where do I start?"

"I had a wonderful time, Josh." Kim said in a soft voice as she looked up at her date and smiled.

"I did too, Kim." Josh replied as the two drew closer together.

Their lips meeting, they briefly kissed until the front porch light turned on in front of the Possible front door. "That's probably my Dad." Kim giggled, "I better go now. Good night and thanks for a wonderful time."

"Good night and I had a great time too." Josh responded before tentatively suggesting, "Maybe we can go out again? Dinner and a movie?"

"Yeah." Kim replied in a soft voice, "I think I'll like that." Swooning as her crush walked away, Kim glanced over at the house of her best friend, noticing that all the lights were out. "Hmmm…" She said to herself, "I guess Ron's not home. I wonder where he is…I was kinda surprised he didn't show up at the dance. I hope he's okay." After a moment of indecision, her lips turned up in a smile, "I'm sure he's fine. He probably went with Rufus to Bueno Nachos for their late night taco fiesta." She then glanced at the vacant house on the other side where a light now shown and noticed that there was a car in the lot. "Huh…I guess someone bought the old McMasters place. Wonder who they are." Then she heard her father's voice calling out to her. "Coming, Dad!"

Bobbi Morse took in her new place with her eyes, nodding her head in approval at the classy, yet simple, furnishings. Her lips then turned up in wicked grin as she noticed the fully stocked bar with a note on the counter. Reading the note, she chuckled:

_Figure I'd introduce you to some friends of mine. Bobbi Morse meet Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Glenfiddich, Santa Teresa, and Jameson. Maria left you something in the fridge and so did Fury. Remember…no drinking on a school night. Welcome to our little family and drop a line whenever you need a hand. -C. Barton._


	3. Chapter 3

Mockingbird's Song

Chapter 3

_**A/N:**__ There's a lot of introspection and character development in this part, so the pacing is a bit slower. This is also where I diverge from strict canon—again, in a crossover of this nature, you really have to diverge from canon and go AU. I think the key is to do the best I can to stick with the __**spirit**__ of canon. Ron and Kim are best friends and care about each other very much—that doesn't mean that they can't do stupid stuff or hurt each other from time to time. Bobbi also has her issues. She's a woman in a teenager's body and is, in many ways, damaged goods. She's clinging to this universe's Clint because he's the only commonality she has with her old life. Her journey and efforts to find a place in this universe is very much a part of this story. For instance, she's going to feel a pang of regret that she couldn't have been in New York for the Avengers fight. She still considers herself an Avenger and will feel more than a little left out because she is not being brought into the Initiative. I've altered the relationship between Ron and Tara because I've always felt that the original series kind of dropped the ball here on that and I'd like to explore it more, just as it dropped the ball on Kim and Josh. How will these relationships with others affect Ron and Kim's friendship and how will they all adapt to the changes that the world is about to undergo? Again, I hope people are enjoying this story and thank you for reading. I look forward to your reviews and comments._

Normally, Ron Stoppable liked to walk to school with his best friend, Kim Possible, but today, he felt more in the mood to walk by himself. The blond teenage boy had a lot on his mind and he thought that a long solitary walk would give him the time to sort things out. And things did, indeed, need to be sorted out. The confrontation with Drakken and Shego actually went down pretty smooth as battles go—injuries were minor and consisted of mere bruises, with Kim getting a small cut on her lip that healed quickly, while he had a good-sized bruise on his thigh that also healed with ice and rest. A couple of other minor bruises here and there, but otherwise, no real injuries.

Physical injuries weren't the problem. The wounds that hurt the blond sidekick were blows to the spirit. The events of Friday, the night of the Spirit Dance, what started out for him as Black Friday but ended on a hopeful note, continued to play through his mind as they had the entire weekend. Drakken and Shego's evil plans had been thwarted yet again, and, while Shego had managed to make her escape, Drakken was currently in the hands of the Swiss authorities awaiting extradition back here to stand trial. The bad guys were beaten yet again. We won—Yay! Then came Josh Mankey—the villain he couldn't defeat because he wasn't really a villain. He was just a boy his best friend was crushing on. If you would have asked Ron for a totally objective and unbiased opinion about his rival for Kim's affections, he would have to admit that Josh was an all-round nice guy. He was a musician and an artist. Sensitive and generally polite and kind. Also, he had the looks that girls like Kim went for. It was only natural that he would have swept his redheaded friend off her feet.

No, Josh Mankey was not the villain. Was it Kim? Was she the villain? Did she deliberately set out to hurt him? Of course not. Ron shook his head, dismissing that thought as being stupid and silly the moment it popped in his head. Kim didn't set out to hurt anyone—much less him, her best friend. The normally invincible Kim Possible who faced down danger on a regular basis with a quip and a smile was rendered into a speechless and quivering ball of jelly the moment she laid eyes on Mankey. He intimidated her more than Drakken, Shego, and all the villains and monsters of the world combined. A slender artist did what no supervillain could ever do—brought Kim Possible to her knees. Ron asked himself over and over, Why did he do it? Why did he give Kim that pep talk? Ron kept asking himself those questions as he walked down the road to school, passing the old McMasters house, now apparently with a new occupant.

Why did he give Kim that pep talk in the closet. All he had to do was keep his mouth shut and wait with her until Mankey had left. Then the pair could have emerged from their hiding place and the Mankey threat would have passed. Maybe they would have gone to the dance as friends. More likely they would have had their usual Friday night nacho and taco feast at Bueno Nacho followed by watching a movie at her house. All would have been right with the world. But no, it wouldn't have. Ron shook his head as he forced himself to face the truth. All would not have been right. Kim would have been miserable and to make matters even worse, his act of omission in not fulfilling his duty as her friend would have eaten at their relationship, eventually resulting in the pair hating each other. And that was something he did not think he could live with. Ron knew in his heart that he had to do what he did in that closet. He had to give his best friend the encouragement she needed to take that big step. Had he done otherwise, he would have failed her. And so, as his reward for being her friend, he spent several hours sitting in that dark closet with no one other than Rufus to keep him company. Listening as Kim and his fellow students laughed and danced just a few feet away from him, oblivious to his cries for help.

Until the door opened and she stood there before him. Bathed in the light like an angel. Tara. Her kindness and compassion touching him in a way only one other person had done. For someone else to affect him that way as Kim did, he didn't think it possible. "Possible…I made a punny." Ron chuckled as he walked down the road. Tara listened to him. Sympathized with him. Cared about what he thought. Then, surprise of surprises, Courtney and Maria—two of the girls who had so harshly turned him down a few days earlier when he asked them out—joined her in embracing the forlorn teen. Once the ice had been broken, Ron found, much to his astonishment, that he had fun hanging out with the three girls—and they enjoyed hanging with him. They actually had fun cleaning up the gym together and then laughing and talking over coffee and late night breakfast at Edna's. They did it again on Saturday. And again, everyone had fun. Kim had tried repeatedly to contact him over the weekend—even got Wade to try to buzz him on his Kimmunicator. But he just switched it off and ignored the many messages left on his answering machine. It wasn't that he was mad at his friend—far from it. He just needed the time and space to work things out. Time that he still needed. He knew he wasn't ready to deal with Kim yet, but wasn't sure what he was going to do when he saw her today—and see her he would whether he wanted to or not.

So lost in his thoughts was he that, when he heard the horn beep, Ron literally jumped in the air. Quickly turning about he saw a very attractive teenage girl about his age with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail and wearing sunglasses, a grey crop top with a LA Dodgers logo on it that showed an ample amount of cleavage, low-cut jeans, and black boots sitting behind the wheel of a white with blue trim Mustang GT convertible. "Wha?" Ron exclaimed, his eyes practically bulging.

"Sorry." The girl chuckled, "I didn't mean to startle you. I've been trying to get your attention, but you seem to have your head up in the clouds. Everything okay?"

"I'm fine." Ron answered, "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Yeah." The girl smiled back, "Long walks help me clear my head too. You headed to school?"

Nodding his head, Ron replied, "Yeah…you?"

"Yep." The girl responded, "Just starting today. The reason why I stopped was to see if you wanted a lift. So…wanna hop in or you still have some more thinking to do?"

"Thanks." Ron replied as he got in the car on the passenger's side. "I could use a lift. I still have some sorting out to do, but it can wait 'til later."

"Well…anything I can help you with…" The girl said, "Just let me know. The name's Bobbi, by the way. Bobbi Morse."

"Ron Stoppable." Ron replied, offering his hand.

Taking the boy's hand and shaking it, Bobbi's lips turned up in a friendly grin, "Good to meet you Ron Stoppable. Hope you ate light—I like to drive fast."

"Wonder what's keeping Ron." Kim Possible exclaimed as she paced the floor. "He's late."

"Maybe he went on his own." Anne Possible conjectured.

"It would have been nice for him to have given me a call and let me know." Kim grumbled as she turned on her Kimmunicator. "Shego's still loose. I wouldn't put it past her to grab Ron and use him as a hostage."

"You really think she'd do that, Kimmie-cub?" Dr. James Possible remarked.

"I wouldn't put anything past her." Kim replied as the face of her African-American techie friend appeared on the screen of the communications device. "Wade? Can you give me a GPS location for Ron? Please and thank you."

"Gimme a moment, Kim." Wade responded as he made some entries on his keyboard. A few seconds later, he reported, displaying a map on the screen. "Looks like he's in a car headed for school."

"Thanks, Wade." Kim replied with a frown. "Wonder why he didn't let me know he was getting a ride and I wonder who he's riding with."

"Wait one." Wade answered back. "I might have something for you. All right! He shoots and he scores. Got a satellite image of the car and license plate." Another image appeared on the screen. This one of a Ford Mustang GT convertible racing down the road being driven by a teenage girl with Ron in the passenger's seat. "She's driving fast." Wade whistled, "At least eighty miles an hour. Give me a second and I'll run the license plates."

"That's way too fast." Kim noted disapprovingly as both her parents frowned. "And thanks again, Wade."

A picture, obviously from a drivers license, California registry, of an attractive blonde teenage girl appeared on the screen. "Bobbi Morse." Wade reported, "Sixteen years old. Last address—Malibu Beach, California. Currently living at…" After a moment, he remarked, "The old McMasters house. She's your next door neighbor, Kim."

"That must have been her moving in on Friday night when Josh took me home after the dance." Kim pondered, "I wonder if she's the reason why Ron hasn't answered any of my calls."

"I couldn't answer that." Wade responded sympathetically. "You'll have to ask him."

Shaking her head, the redheaded heroine forced a smile to her face, "Thanks again, Wade. Talk to you later."

"Is everything okay between you and Ron?" Anne asked, her face etched with concern.

"Yeah." Kim replied positively, "At least I think so. We didn't have a fight or anything—at least I don't think we had a fight if that's what you're wanting to know. The last time I saw him was in the janitor's closet at school. Her face reddening in embarrassment, she explained, "I couldn't work up the nerve to ask Josh Mankey to the dance and when I saw him coming towards me, I ducked into the closet. Ron followed me and gave me a pep talk. Helped me work up the courage to go up to Josh and ask him out."

"And that was the last time you saw him." Anne murmured knowingly.

Kim nodded her head, "Yeah. I was expecting him to show up at the dance, but he never came."

"Did you look for him?" James asked.

"No." Kim confessed, her face reddening in embarrassment. "My attention was all on Josh. I wasn't thinking of anything else."

"I see…" Anne heaved a sigh and then motioned for her daughter to continue.

"Like I told Wade, I tried calling him all weekend. Left messages on his answering machine but he never returned my calls. On Saturday, I went to the mall. I wanted to cruise by and see if Club Banana had anything new and I was kinda hoping I might run into him there. That he'd be playing video games at the arcade or something like that and we could hang out and talk for a while. No such luck." She shook her head. "I did see Tara and her gal pals Courtney and Maria…" Kim took a deep breath before continuing, "The looks they gave me. You've heard the old saying that if looks could kill…"

"Yeah, honey." Anne replied as it slowly began to dawn on her as to what might have happened between her daughter and Ron. "Go on."

"Well…" Kim cracked an ironic smile, "The looks they gave me put to shame any of the looks that Shego has ever given me. If those looks really could have killed, I'd have been dead a thousand times over. Then, when I went to ask them what the problem was, they just turned their backs on me and walked away. I was munching on the cold shoulder I got from them for the rest of the day."

"What else?"

"After leaving the mall, I figured I'd go by Bueno Nacho. Saturday's Taco Twosome day there—buy two tacos, get another two for half price. Ron likes to stuff his face on the diablo tacos there." She chuckled at a recent memory before returning to her story. "But when I got there, no Ron. I asked the dweeb behind the counter whether he'd seen him, but he said that he never came by. Just murmured something about Edna and her blueberry pies. Then on Sunday after he didn't return any of my calls, I decided enough was enough and walked over and knocked on his door. No answer and no sign anyone was home. I couldn't hear the TV or stereo or anything. I thought for a moment about breaking in but changed my mind. It would have been embarrassing if I caught him in the shower or something like that."

"Good thing you didn't bust down the door or try to get in through a window, Kimmie-cub." James declared, "A passerby might have thought you were a burglar and called the police."

"You're right, Dad." Kim conceded. "I just don't know what's going on here and I'm worried about him. What if something's happened to him?"

"Well…" Anne smiled warmly as she tried to console her daughter, "We know he's okay and is on his way to school. So…why don't you get your stuff together and I'll drop you off on the way to work."

"Okay." Kim smiled, "Thanks, Mom. I'm going to have a talk with Ron first time we get the chance."

"Oh…Kimmie….one thing…" Anne cautioned, "Don't be surprised if Ron's a little…guarded…around you for a while."

"What do you mean 'guarded', Mom?" A suddenly concerned Kim replied.

"It's just that…" Anne sighed, "Just don't be surprised if you don't get the reception you're hoping for—at least not at once. Now…go ahead and get your stuff. We don't want to be late now—do we?"

"No, Mom." Kim responded in a soft voice as her mother's last words rung in her ears, "We don't."

As Kim disappeared up the stairs into her room, Anne shook her head, "I wish growing up wasn't so tough sometimes."

"Crossed wires?" James ventured.

Nodding her head, Anne responded, "Yeah. I think so. I just hope those two can work it out. They've been friends for a long time. I'd hate to see it ended because of a communications breakdown."

"Thanks again for the lift, Bobbi." Ron said with a smile as Tara and her two friends, Courtney and Maria, approached. "Hi Tara…Courtney…Maria. This is Bobbi. She gave me a lift to school this morning."

"Hello, Bobbi." Tara said, giving her fellow blonde a look that Bobbie knew only too well. "New here?"

"Yeah." Bobbi replied. "I was wondering if someone could point me to the office. I need to sign some paperwork before classes start."

"I'll show you the way." Tara responded and then smiled at Ron, "See you later, Ron?"

"Yeah, Tara." Ron smiled back, "Lunch?"

"Sounds good." The blonde cheerleader answered back. "If we get there before you do, we'll save you a spot at our table."

As the two blondes left a very happy Ron in the company of Courtney and Maria, Bobbi whispered to Tara, "Ron your boyfriend?"

"Ummm…" Tara stammered.

"You want him to be your boyfriend." Bobbi concluded with a soft chuckle. "I've seen the 'Keep your hands off my man' stare before. If it helps any, I'm off the market. Got a guy of my own. He's going to school out of town."

Visibly relaxing at her fellow blonde's news, Tara inquired, "What's your boyfriend's name?"

"Clint." Bobbi replied, "Clint Barton. I got his picture here." She then took out a picture of Clint with his black sleeveless shirt and handed it to Tara.

"Whoa!" Tara gasped, "He's…"

"Yeah." Bobbi joked with a smug grin, "Ripped. Six pack abs, firm biceps and triceps, and that's just the beginning."

'Ummm…." The cheerleader stammered, not sure if she should ask her question, "If you don't mind me asking…he looks quite a bit…I mean…how…"

"About ten years older." Bobbi responded with a shrug, "I like older men. He's into archery and martial arts and loves fast cars. That's how we met." She lied as she spun out her cover story. "I'm into fast cars too and I keep in shape. We met in the gym and…well…sparks flew."

"That's so cool." Tara gushed and then frowned as she spotted a familiar face.

"So…" Bobbi ventured, "What's keeping you from staking your claim on Ron?"

"Her." Tara replied with a frosty edge to her voice as she turned her gaze to a redheaded girl opening her locker. "Kim…There's nothing I can't do…Possible."

"They going out with each other?" Bobbi asked as she got her first real look at her primary target.

"No." Tara shook her head, "But they might as well be. He's always hanging out with her and he goes with her when she goes out and does her thing?"

"Her thing?"

"Yeah." Tara responded through gritted teeth, "Her 'saving the world' thing. Just recently they busted up some mad scientist in Switzerland. Then she gets back, everyone calls her hero while they ignore Ron or call him a loser and then she locks him in the closet while she spends the Spirit Dance with Josh Mankey."

"Ouch." Bobbi exclaimed. "That's harsh! Does she make a big production out of her adventures?"

"Not really." Tara admitted. "It's everyone else that does."

"But she doesn't really do anything to damp it down, does she?"

"No." Tara shook her head. "Not really."

"I see." Bobbi mused, "Did she really lock him in the closet? On purpose."

"Ron says she didn't." Tara confessed, "He says it was an accident. That she was so stuck on Josh that she wasn't thinking. But I know it hurt his feelings that she forgot him."

"Well…" Bobbi grinned, "I know I can get that way when I'm expecting Clint to come into town. You know how it is…everything just comes to a stop except for that guy."

"I guess you're right." Tara conceded, her lips turning up in a wry grin, "Maybe I'm being a little too rough on Possible. But still…"

"She should have checked to be sure he was okay." Bobbi nodded her head, "Yeah. What she did was thoughtless and stupid. But I don't think she meant to hurt him." Her lips then turned up in a mischievous grin, "So…let's snatch him away from her."

"What?"

"They're not dating—right?" Bobbi declared, smirking at Tara's confirming nod. "According to the rules of dating, that makes him fair game. I got my man. She's got hers. Now it's time for you to get yours. The day we can't snatch a boy from some redhead is the day they revoke our blonde credentials—right."

"Right!" Tara nodded her head once vigorously. "So…what do we do?"

"First thing…packaging." Bobbi grinned. "We go shopping and hit the stylist after school. Sound good?"

"Sounds great." Tara exclaimed and then asked, "Can we bring Courtney and Maria along. I have a feeling you guys will get along great with each other."

"Sure." Bobbi replied as they reached the office door, "We'll make it a girls only afternoon."

"Cool." Tara smiled, "I'll see you later. Oh…" She advised, "Don't be late for Mr. Barkin's class. He loves to give out detentions."

"Thanks for the warning." Bobbi replied as she opened the office door. "Later!"

"Have a good day, sweetie." Anne said as she dropped her daughter off at the school entrance.

"Thanks, Mom." Kim replied with a sigh, "I'll try." Squaring her shoulders, she entered the building. Seeing Josh Mankey, her legs began to wobble as he approached..

"Hey, Kim."

"Hi, Josh." Kim smiled back.

"I had a great time at the dance."

"I did too." Kim responded.

"Are we still on for this Friday?" He asked.

"Unless something big happens." Kim answered back, "Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."

"Great!" Josh grinned, "See you for lunch?"

"Yeah." Kim replied, "Lunch."

"Cool. See you later."

Glancing about, Kim looked for Ron, but without success. However, she did see Courtney and Maria whispering to each other in between glares at her. "Okay…that's it." Kim growled as she strode towards the two girls. "Time to find out what's going on here." Approaching the duo, Kim cleared her throat.

"What is it, Possible?" Courtney sneered, "Lose something…or someone…again?"

"What are you talking about?" Kim demanded, raising her voice.

"Pfft." The two girls sneered over their shoulders as they walked away, Maria exclaiming, "You're supposed to the one who knows everything…figure it out."

Shaking her head, Kim walked to her locker. Dialing the combination, she opened the door to reveal the PC inside. Glancing about, she spotted Tara talking to an attractive blonde girl in front of the principal's office. Noticing the brief glare she received from her fellow cheerleader, Kim activated the computer. "Wade? Are you there?"

"Yeah, Kim. What's up?"

"Do you have a location on Ron? I can't find him anywhere and the bell's going to ring in about fifteen minutes."

"Sorry. No." Wade apologized, "I think he's turned his Kimmunicator off."

"I don't know what's going on, Wade." Kim sobbed, "Ron's avoiding me. Tara and her friends are giving me the stink-eye, and no one's telling me why! I just want to know what I did to deserve all this so that I can make it right. Please Wade…you're the only person talking to me. Help me." She moaned as her eyes teared up.

His heart going out to his friend, Wade answered back in a soft, gentle voice, "I'll see what I can do, Kim. Maybe Ron'll turn his Kimmunicator back on in a bit. I'll keep trying. If I find out anything, I'll let you know at once."

"Thanks, Wade." Kim replied in a whisper, "You're the best." Glancing at the clock, she gasped, "I better get to class!"

Entering Mr. Barkin's classroom, Kim glanced about the room. Her eyes fell on Ron sitting, instead of at his normal desk next to hers, at a desk next to Tara with Courtney and Maria sitting near and an empty seat on the other side of Tara, obviously being saved for someone. Her gaze falling on her old friend, she raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders receiving in return a slight shake of the head.

"Waiting for an invitation, Possible?"

"Mr Barkin?" Kim, startled, responded.

"Take your seat…now."

Exhaling, her eyes remain fixed on Ron as she made her way to her seat and sat down.

"Worth the price of admission." Bonnie muttered to her clique as her lips turned up in an evil grin at the discomfiture of her rival.

"While you might be an emancipated minor Ms. Morse and capable of handling your own legal affairs…" The vice-president declared in a gruff voice as Kim signed the necessary paperwork to complete her enrollment, "You will still be responsible for following all school rules and regulations while on school grounds. Be sure that you read and understand the Code of Conduct. Disciplinary breaches will be dealt with accordingly. Understood?"

"Understood, Sir." Bobbi politely responded.

"Good." The vice-principal replied, nodding his head in satisfaction at his newest student's answer. He then called out, "Platt! Show Ms. Morse where Mr. Barkin's homeroom class is and then come straight back here. I better not hear about you loitering around the cafeteria.

"Yes, Sir." The young boy responded as he signaled for Bobbi to join him. "Just remember 'Sir, Yes Sir, and Sir, No, Sir, and you'll get along fine with Mr. Barkin." The boy joked as the pair walked down the corridor. After a few minutes, they reached a classroom with the door closed. "Mr. Barkin's class." He said, "Good luck."

Entering the classroom, Bobbi found a giant of a man with brown and blond streaked hair standing in front of the blackboard. "Pass!" He commanded, holding out his hand.

Handing him both her schedule and the hall pass that the vice-principal had issued her, Bobbi waited patiently as the teacher carefully scrutinized both the hall pass and the schedule until, finally satisfied that they were the genuine articles, he instructed his newest student to take a seat.

Sitting down at the empty seat next to Tara, Bobbi whispered "Thanks" as the teacher began his lecture on the American Revolution. Pretending to pay attention as the hour passed, Bobbi sighed with relief when the bell rang.

"Now, it's phys. ed." Tara said to Bobbi as the girls filed out of the classroom with Ron following behind. Turning to Ron, the blonde cheerleader asked, "My favorite class. You headed to the gym, Ron?"

"Yeah." Ron nodded his head, "But I've got to stop off at my locker first. See you girls in a bit."

"Hurry up!" Tara called back, "You don't wanna be late and have to run laps."

As he walked down the corridor towards his locker, he heard a familiar voice call out to him, "Ron?"

Turning about, his heart melted as he saw a doe-eyed Kim slowly approach. "Yeah, Kim?"

"Ron? I think we need to talk."

"Yeah." Ron nodded his head as the pair made their way towards his locker, "I guess we do."

"What's wrong?" She asked as she looked up at her friend. "What did I do? You didn't return any of my calls and when I went to your house, you wouldn't answer the door and today went to school with that new girl instead of us going to school together like we always do. Did I do something to make you mad at me?"

"How did you know Bobbi drove me to school?" Ron asked. "I didn't tell you and I don't think you've met Bobbi yet and I know Tara and the girls haven't said anything." His eyes narrowed, "Did you have Wade spy on me?"

"I was worried about you, Ron!" Kim cried out. "When you didn't answer any of my calls this weekend and then didn't show up this morning, I feared the worst—that Shego might have took you."

His heart going out to his friend as he saw the tears flowing down her face, Ron replied in a soft voice, "I understand, Kim. You were worried about me and I appreciate that…but that doesn't change what happened."

"What, Ron? What did I do?" A genuinely confused Kim begged.

"You forgot me."

"I forgot you? What are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Kim." Ron said, shaking his head at his friend's apparent cluelessness. "Before today, when was the last time you saw me?"

Thinking back for a moment, Kim responded, "The janitor's closet Friday afternoon. I was scared to death about talking to Josh and you settled me down and gave me the courage to go out and do it. So?"

"You were in such a hurry…" Ron said in a low voice, "…that you didn't look to see whether I'd left too. They must have finally gotten around to fixing the door where it would close quickly instead of staying open like it always did because I got locked in."

"Oh no!" Kim gasped as Ron continued to speak.

"I called out for you. I shouted until I was hoarse. No one heard me. Throughout that whole dance I could hear you and everyone else laughing and dancing. I could hear the music playing. While you were dancing and having fun with Josh, I was stuck in that closet, Kim. Just me and Rufus. If it wasn't for Tara opening that door to get cleaning supplies after you had left with Josh, I'd have been stuck in that damned closet until this morning."

"I didn't know, Ron!" Kim cried out, "Honest! If I'd have known you were in there…"

"You'd have let me out." Ron nodded his head. "I know. And I know it was an accident and that you didn't lock me in deliberately to be mean or cruel. I know that you would never do that. Funny thing is, in a way, I almost wish that you did pull a Bonnie and do it to be mean. Because that would have meant you would have at least thought about me. But…you just completely forgot me. It was like I didn't exist for you—after all we've been through together since pre-K. That hurt me worse than anything else."

Tears flowed as Kim lowered her head in shame and regret. "I'm so sorry, Ron. You're right. I was so happy about Josh going with me to that dance that I didn't even think about my best friend. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course, I forgive you, Kim. You're my friend and I hope you always will be my friend." Ron said with a sad smile, "But I did a lot of thinking this weekend. About you…me…us…what we are and where we're going."

"And?" Kim felt a weight in her stomach as her heart skipped a beat.

"In a way, what happened might have been a blessing in disguise. It forced me to take a long look at a lot of stuff. While we were at Drakken's lair, I made a comment about lines being crossed when the subject of Josh Mankey came up. It ended up, lines were crossed. Kim, I can't sit and listen to you talk about your boyfriends or crushes anymore and I don't think it's fair for you to do the same for me. I also can't put my life on hold for you. Believe it or not, I've found new friends…I'm still trying to process that myself…why Tara and the other girls would want me to hang out with them…"

"Maybe they see what I see in you." Kim smiled warmly as she sniffed, "A kind, funny, and caring boy."

"I don't know about that." Ron chuckled, "But I'm beginning to think that maybe…if Tara feels the same way towards me as I'm beginning to feel about her… Anyway, I want you to know that I'll always be there for you for missions or when you need me for anything—except talking about boyfriends and girlfriends. And I hope I'm still a member of Team Possible, but, I need to broaden my range. Meet new people…do different things."

"I see." Kim replied in a soft voice as she wiped her eyes with a tissue. "I never knew I was hurting you so much and I don't want to smother you. And I'm glad you have found new friends and I really…really…hope things work out for you and Tara—you two deserve all the happiness in the world. And Ron…you'll always be a part of Team Possible. I need my best friend when I go out on missions and not to be just a distraction or a punching bag. I can't do what I do without you! And I hope one day we can get back to the way things were. I'm going to miss our nacho and movie nights."

"Who said anything about missing nacho and movie nights?" Ron chuckled through his tears. "I didn't say I didn't want see you again or do anything with you. I just don't want you to take me for granted anymore. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Kim replied between sobs, a smile beginning to form on her face, "I can do that. Friends?" She asked as she held out her arms for a hug.

"Best friends." Ron replied, returning her hug, "Always."

"Let's see that picture of that boyfriend of yours!" Courtney playfully teased Bobbi as she and the other girls changed in the locker room for P.E.

"Yeah!" Maria exclaimed, joining in, "We wanna see."

"You girls are gonna wet yourselves when you see him." Tara grinned smugly as Bobbi took Clint's picture out of her purse and displayed it to her audience.

"Here you go, girls. Gaze and be stupefied."

"Damn, girl!" Hope gushed, "That's some prime beef there."

"One-hundred percent grade A." Marcella agreed.

"Where did you get hold of that—and can I have one of my own?" Crystal leered.

"Wow!" Bonnie whistled, "I bet he's a regular Energizer Bunny—if you know what I mean."

As she entered the locker room, Kim saw the crowed of girls laughing and joking near the lockers. Curious, she called out as she approached, "Hey! What's going on?"

"Bobbi's showing us a picture of her boyfriend." Bonne smugly replied, "Come on over and have a look, Possible. See what you're missing. This guy puts Mankey and the other boys here to shame."

"You still jealous, Bonnie, because Josh went to the dance with me instead of you." Kim smoothly riposted.

"At least I didn't leave my best friend locked up in the closet all night." Bonnie countered, smirking evilly as she saw that her barb had hit home.

Her face growing crimson in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, Kim answered back in a soft voice so that no one else could hear, "I apologized to Ron and we made up. So take it and stick it up your ass, Bonnie."

Seeing Bobbi's slight head nod, Tara noticed Kim and Bonnie glaring at each other seemingly on the point of coming to blows. "Kim!" The blonde cheerleader called out in an effort to maintain the peace, "Come over here and get a look at Bobbi's boyfriend!"

Gratefully accepting her fellow cheerleader's olive branch, Kim approached the group and gazing at the picture, let out a low whistle. "Wow…he's ummm…"

"Yeah…he is. Easier to break in if you get 'em when they're older." Bobbi quipped and then extended her hand, "Bobbi Morse. You must be the Kim Possible I've been hearing so much about."

"Hi." Kim smiled back as she took Bobbi's hand in hers and shook it. "And you must be the Bobbi Morse I've been hearing about. Glad to finally meet you. And…uhhh…thanks for giving Ron a lift to school."

"Glad to do it." Bobbi shrugged her shoulders, "He's a good guy. You know…since we're neighbors and all…you can ride along too. My car's got enough room."

"Thanks." Kim smiled back, "But you gotta promise not to drive so fast."

Laughing, Bobbi responded, "No promises, but I'll try to keep my foot off the accelerator."

"Okay, ladies!" The gym teacher called out as she blew her whistle, "Any day now!"

As she watched Ron run through the makeshift obstacle course in the gym, Bobbie mused aloud, "He's got the strength and agility, but he's lacking confidence. He should have climbed that rope without any problems and the high jump wasn't that difficult."

"You really think it's just a matter of confidence?" Tara, overhearing Bobbi's musings, inquired.

"Yeah." Bobbi nodded her head. "Take a look at his biceps and triceps…don't drool Tara…look!" Bobbi joked good-naturedly. "They're developed. He just doesn't have enough faith in himself." Turning to Tara, she winked, "We're going to have to do something about that."

"What about Kim?" Tara asked as she pointed to Kim Possible currently doing tumbles on the mat.

"She's a natural." Bobbi replied, her expert's eye carefully evaluating the redhead's routine. "I've only seen one other person with that sort of natural talent and agility and she's a redhead too. But she's undisciplined. Her tumbles and falls lack precision. That'll lose her marks in competition. Enough to put her out of the top three places." _And get her ass kicked in a fight with the wrong person._

"You sound like you speak from experience Ms. Morse." The gym teacher, who had been quietly listening to her newest student's evaluations remarked. "Did you compete in your previous school?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Bobbi politely replied, "I was on my old school's gymnastics team."

"Then maybe you'd like to show us how it's done." The teacher challenged.

Her lips turning up in a grin, Bobbi bounded up to her feet and dashed out on to the obstacle course. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, she nodded at the timekeeper who after a few seconds nodded his head, starting his stopwatch as Bobbi easily climbed the rope, touching the top and then expertly sliding down. She then dashed to the next test—monkey bars—which she easily traversed. Then a wall, followed by the same high jump that defeated Ron. After overcoming her final obstacles, a series of hurdles, Bobbi carried out a series of tumbles on the mat, finally crossing the finish line.

Checking the time, the coach nodded her head in approval. "Not bad, Ms. Chase. You beat Ms. Possible's record by two seconds.

"Looks like you've got some competition, KP." Ron noted as he walked up to his friend who was at that time wiping the sweat off with a towel.

"Yeah." Kim replied as she gazed at the lean and graceful blonde stretching on the map. "She's good. Looks like I'm going to have to up my game."

"This top should make his eyes pop out." Bobbi said as she held it up to Tara's chest.

"Yeah, girlfriend." Courtney agreed. "That crop top is killer."

"Wear it with that skirt and you can land any boy at school." Maria declared.

"All right." Tara replied, "I'll try 'em on."

As she disappeared in to the fitting rooms in the back, Maria muttered to Bobbi, "I gotta admit, I'm surprised Tara's fallen so hard for Stoppable. He's always come across as a big loser to me until we started hanging out."

"Yeah." Courtney agreed, "Until I got to know the guy last weekend, I'd always written him off."

"Gotta be kinda hard being in Possible's shadow." Bobbi pointed out. "Maybe that's the reason he comes off so bad. Hard to shine when you're standing next to a supernova. So he tries and he tries too hard."

"Good point." Maria nodded her head, "I guess it can't be easy being Kim Possible's friend."

"So?" Tara asked as she modeled her outfit. "What do you girls think?"

"I think…" Courtney remarked, "That boy is blind if he doesn't go for that."

"We have a winner." Bobbi declared as Tara went back to the changing rooms, coming back moments later dressed in her old outfit and with the clothes she had just modeled in her hands. Waiting until her friend had paid for the outfit, Bobbi then asked, "So…where now?"

"Nachos?" Tara asked.

"Works for me." Bobbi grinned, "So…Bueno Nacho?"

Pulling into the parking lot, Bobbi shook her head at all the cars in the lot. "This place gets a lot of traffic."

"It's sort of a hangout." Tara explained, "Although we prefer Edna's."

"We could always go there if you want." Bobbi offered only to see Ron talking with Kim over nachos at a table next to the window. "On the other hand…" The blonde's lips turned up in a wicked grin, "I've suddenly got a hankering for a chicken burrito. Tara? You ever do a back seat quick change?" She asked as she raised the top to her car.

"No." She replied as grins appeared on the other girls' faces.

"Just get in the back seat. Stay low, and switch into your new clothes." Bobbi instructed. "We'll make sure no one gets a peek at you."

A short time later, Tara emerged from the back seat fully changed into her new outfit.

"Girl…" Maria exclaimed, "Now that's what we're talking about."

"Get your hair and warpaint adjusted and let's go and land you a Stoppable." Bobbi grinned as she tossed her friend a hairbrush and compact.

As the four girls strode towards the restaurant, Courtney grimaced at the sight of the three boys leaving. "Noxious and the Doof Troop."

"Huh?" Bobbi interjected, "Wanna fill the new girl in?"

"Jeff Noxious." Tara grimaced as she replied, "Ever meet that guy you thought was cool, but ended up being a jerk?"

"Ran into one or two." Bobbi nodded her head in understanding. "All hands and can't take no for an answer?"

"Pretty much so." Maria responded. "See the guy to the left? That's Stuart Simple…I got stuck with him as my date for the dance. Got hit one time too often in football practice—if you know what I mean."

"And I ended up with the bozo to the right." Courtney grumbled, "Wally Windbreak. If I'd have known he had a gas problem at the time he asked me out, I'd have told him where he could stick it."

"Funny thing is…" Tara shook her head, "Ron asked all of us out, but we all turned him down. He asked me too late, after I'd already told Jeff yes. I was hoping he would have asked me earlier, but he only had eyes for…" Her gaze then fell on the redhead seated across from her prospective boyfriend.

"Possible." Bobbi nodded her head, and then remarked cheerily, "Well…you're going to be the only thing he'll be looking at once he catches sight of you in that outfit."

"You think?" Tara exclaimed with just the faintest tinge of doubt in her voice.

"I know." Bobbi declared confidently.

"Hey, Tara!" Jeff called out as the boys passed by the girls, "Wanna go out to the park and…you know…" He leered as he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"In your dreams, Noxious." Tara sniffed as she and the other girls gave the football player and his friends the cold shoulder.

"Come on, man!" Stuart said, putting his hand on Jeff's arm, "We gotta move."

"Yeah." Wally growled, "We don't wanna be late for the meeting."

"Later, Ice Princess." Jeff smirked as the three boys walked away.

"Losers." Tara muttered under her breath.

"That guy gonna be a problem?" Bobbi asked as she glared at the big football player walking away.

"No." Tara shook her head, "He's all talk." Then, spotting her target in the restaurant, she waved, "Hi Ron."

His eyes almost popping out of his head as he saw Tara wearing a blue low-cut crop top that revealed a lot of cleavage, short black skirt with a silver belt, and black leather boots, Ron almost spilled his drink. "Tara? Wow!"

Turning her head, Kim coughed in surprise as she saw Tara in her new outfit. "Wow, Tara…nice outfit." Then, seeing the stunned look on her friend's face, she chuckled, "Ron? Ron?"

"See Tara." Bobbi teased, "You've rendered the poor boy speechless." Calling out to the redhead as she signaled the other two girls, "Hey Kim? Wanna come with us? We were planning on catching a movie."

Picking up on the hint, Kim's lips turned up in a grin, "Sure, Bobbi. You can go on without me for a bit…can't you Ron?" She asked with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Pushing her friend towards the still stunned teenage boy, Bobbi whispered, "You got him hooked. Now reel him in. We'll be back later. Have fun."

"Hi Ron." Tara said shyly as she sat down where Kim had once sat.

"Uhhh…Hi Tara." Ron responded as he slowly recovered, "Ummm…nice outfit."

"Thanks." Tara smiled back, "I like what you're wearing too. That shirt really shows off your muscles."

"Really?" Ron asked with a surprised look on his face, "You think I've got muscles?"

"Yeah." Tara grinned, "I'd think you'd have to be pretty strong and tough to keep up with Kim."

Nodding his head, Ron remarked with a grin, "Yeah…we do get into some tough situations."

"Really?" Tara asked with a smile, "Tell me about some of 'em."

"Okay…" Ron smiled, "Well there was this time Kim and I were caught in Drakken's lair…"

Rufus, popping out of his friend's pocket, took one look at the changed dynamic and scratched his head before grabbing and nibbling a stray nacho lying on the table. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the new situation, but, so long as the nachos and nacos flowed and his friends were happy, the little naked mole-rat wasn't going to get too worried.

Returning to her home after Bobbi had dropped her off, Kim called out to her parents, "Mom? Dad? I'm home!"

"Hey, dear!" Anne replied as she came in from the kitchen, "How'd everything go today."

"It started rough." Kim admitted and then told her mother about everything that happened with Ron and the closet and the fallout from it. "Then, it got better—I guess."

"Why do you say, 'you guess'?" Anne asked.

"Well…I'm dating Josh now and Ron's dating Tara, but, I'm afraid that we might…"

"Start drifting apart?" Anne finished. As her daughter nodded her head, Anne's lips turned up in a sad smile, "I'm not gonna lie to you, honey, that could happen. But, I don't think it will here—not with the two of you. Yeah, things are gonna change between the two of you, but that's a part of growing up, sweetie. Just be there for each other and everything will take care of itself." Brushing back a stray lock of her daughter's hair, the concerned mother asked, "So…what else happened?"

"I found out who moved into the old McMasters home."

"Who?"

"Her name's Bobbi Morse and she goes to school with us." Kim replied.

"What do her parents do?"

"She doesn't have any parents or guardians." Kim answered back, "She's an emancipated minor."

"Hmmm…" Anne vocalized, not liking the sound of that. "Sixteen years old and living on her own without any supervision. I'm not sure that's such a good thing. Maybe I should swing by there tomorrow after school and welcome her to the neighborhood."

"And check her out?" Kim quipped.

"I just think it's a good idea for her to know that she's got someone to come to if she needs help with anything." Anne replied primly and then gave her daughter a hug. "Now…don't you have homework to do?"

Returning to his home, Ron's lips turned up in a grin as he played back the events of the day. While it started out rough, it most definitely ended on a high note. He…Ron Stoppable…the school loser…had a girlfriend! And not just any girlfriend…A nice, beautiful, sweet, caring girlfriend. He also made a new friend and made up with Kim. Yep, all in all, today was a very good day.

Making a few last minute adjustments to her costume, Bobbi tested out her fighting sticks before slipping them into their loops on her belt. Then, she slipped on her mask and aimed her wrist launcher at the roof of a nearby building. It was now time for Mockingbird to make her debut as Middleton's newest hero.


	4. Chapter 4

Mockingbird's Song

Chapter 4

_**A/N:**__ I'm not following strict chronological order on the episodes as, for the most part, the episodes are self-contained, so it really doesn't matter in what order they might come into play. However, where continuity is important, I will follow it; but I do reserve the right to draw from material in future episodes for story purposes—for instance, Ron might reminisce about his pre-K years with Kim or Kim might recall something from middle school. Also, I am deliberately building up tensions between Ron and Kim and yes (slight spoiler) a big confrontation is looming on the horizon. Friends do disagree, quarrel, and fight. What determines the strength of a friendship is whether it can weather those obstacles or not. We'll just have to wait and see whether Kim and Ron's friendship can endure what is to come. As for Bobbi—she's looking to find her place—never an easy thing to do._

_I hope you all enjoy this part and, as always, I look forward to your reviews and comments._

Striking quickly with her fighting sticks, Mockingbird quickly disarmed the would-be mugger, his knife skittering across the pavement, as his partner staggered back to his feet. Dodging to the left, Bobbi quickly avoided the punch, countering with a jab from her stick to the thug's side, felling the man with an "Ooof!" Spinning rapidly about, Bobbi vaulted over a construction barrier, delivering a lunging kick at the other mugger, putting him down as well. Surveying the area, the costumed hero saw that the couple who were the mugger's intended victims had long since ran away. Nodding her head in satisfaction, Bobbi bound the muggers with plastic tie cuffs. Then, after slapping a sticky note on the forehead of each of the muggers, she aimed her wrist launcher at a roof ledge, swiftly making her escape to the rooftop.

"Two muggings and an attempted breaking and entry stopped." Mockingbird smiled in satisfaction, "Not a bad night's work. Now, time to get home and finish up my history homework if I don't want Barkin riding my ass tomorrow."

As she returned to her house, Bobbi turned on the television. Making her way to the bar, she settled for a ginger-ale as she watched the news. _"Another raid against a terrorist weapons stockpile has been reported. Just as in the other incidents, eyewitnesses report that it was a flying armored man who saved them and destroyed the munitions. This is Cynthia Bernhold for KMID News."_

"Looks like you've been busy, Tony. Well…" Bobbi laughed as she held her glass up in the direction of the TV as if in a toast and took a sip of her ginger-ale and then sighed as she pulled out her history book and notebook and pen, "Time to get to work."

"Hey, Bobbi!" Tara called out as she greeted her friend just in front of the school. "Did you hear the news?"

"What news?" Bobbi asked, "You mean where another stockpile of Stark munitions got blown up?"

"No." Tara shook her head, "Not that. Looks like Middleton's got another hero!"

"Oh?" Bobbi exclaimed.

"Yeah." Maria said, joining the conversation. "Someone beat up on some muggers and stopped a couple of gang-bangers from breaking into Emerald's jewelry store. Didn't kill them but gave them some nasty bruises."

"Do they know who's doing it?" Bobbi asked.

"No." Courtney interjected as she joined the conversation. "But whoever did it left little sticky notes for the police saying something like 'From Mockingbird with love'."

"You think it might be Possible?" Maria asked. "That she decided to pick up a fancy codename or something?"

"No." Tara shook her head, "Ron would have told me if it was her."

"Speaking of which…" Bobbi inquired, changing the subject, "Anyone seen our favorite boy?"

"No…" Courtney replied and then pointed, "Wait…there he is. Walking with Possible—of course."

"It's okay." Tara said with a smile, "He called me last night and told me that he was heading in with Kim today—that after everything that had happened, he thought that it wouldn't hurt for them to have a little friend time."

"Yeah…that's what they told me when I asked them whether they wanted a ride to school." Bobbi commented as Tara called out to her boyfriend, quickly getting his attention.

"Hey Ron!"

"Better get over to your girlfriend." Kim told her friend as she spied Josh Mankey approaching, "I'll catch up to you in a bit."

Quickly disengaging himself from his old friend, Ron dashed up to Tara and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Gotta be careful." He cautioned as his girlfriend returned his kiss, "You know how Barkin is about PDA."

"Is that a new hairstyle, Ron?" Maria asked.

"Yeah." The blond teenager blushed, "Kim called in a favor a bigshot stylist owed her." Lowering his voice, he remarked, "I think she's still feeling bad for what happened at the dance and is trying to make up for it. It's funny…" He said in a pensive tone, "If I weren't going out with you, Tara, I'd be soaking up all the attention I've been getting from the styling. It's amazing how many girls have been complimenting me on it. To be honest…" He lowered his voice, "I don't think it looks all that good. It's a little too short for me and there's only one place that sells the styling gel for it and that's in Paris."

"She took you all the way to Paris just to get your hair done?" Maria exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh no." Ron shook his head, "The stylist was visiting the states and Kim asked him to come in for a house call. We had to go to Paris to get the styling gel."

"All the way to Paris just for styling gel." Courtney shook her head, "How does she do it?"

"She's got a list of people owing her favors you wouldn't believe." Ron replied, "And she's not afraid of cashing in when she feels she needs to. Anyway, the trip to Paris was actually a mixture of business and pleasure. We got a call in from Wade that there were power blackouts throughout Europe and were asked to look in on them. Kim was worried that it might have been some supervillain or other. Ended up, it was this kooky old man—Senor Senior, Senior or something like that."

"Senor Senior, Senior?" Bobbi interrupted as she made a mental note to run the name through the SHIELD database, "That's a strange name."

"Yeah." Ron laughed, "And his son's name is Senor Senior, Junior. Anyway…" He said, continuing his story, "It was just this whole lot of nothing. He's this super rich dude who owns his own private island." His laughter growing louder as Rufus popped out of his pocket and began laughing too, "I was joking with him that with a little work and remodeling, it would have made the perfect villain's lair. Well, what was causing all the problems was that the guy had a giant tanning light built so that Junior could work on the perfect tan. It, and everything else on that island, drew so much power that it was stretching the European power grid, causing brownouts. Funny thing is…Junior apparently goes to the same stylist Kim took me to."

"You don't need a fancy haircut to impress me." Tara declared. "I like you just the way you are."

"I know that now, babe." Ron responded with a smile, "But…like I said, Kim insisted on it, so I went along with it. She thought she was doing something nice for me…"

"And you didn't want to hurt her feelings." Tara finished with a smile as she gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, "That's one of the things I love about you, Ron."

"Awww…you're the best." Ron blushed as Bobbi cleared her throat.

"Okay…you two can whisper sweet nothings to each other later." She quipped and then returned to the topic, "So…I take it you got everything straightened out with the old guy."

Ron nodded his head, "Kim gave him some info on energy conservation and we left. No big."

"Beats a beatdown session—pun intended." Bobbi commented as the bell rang, "Oops…we better get going."

"Yeah." Tara agreed, "I'm not in the mood to do detention for being late."

"If I hear the words 'no taxation without representation one more time…" Bobbi rolled her eyes, "I swear I'll scream!"

"Tell me about it!" Tara groaned in sympathy as she inquired, "So…you going to try out for the cheerleading team in a few weeks?"

"Yeah." Bobbi replied as Kim joined the conversation.

"That's great, Bobbi! I've seen your moves in gym. I'd say you've got a good shot at getting on the team."

"I got a meeting with the guidance counselor scheduled for next week." Ron groaned.

"Any idea what it's for?" Bobbi asked.

"Probably me needing to get involved in extracurriculars." The blond teen responded, rolling his eyes.

"Well, baby…" Tara gently pointed out, "An extracurricular or two would help your chances at getting into college."

"She's right, Ron." Kim interjected. "It wouldn't hurt for you to get involved in something. Got any ideas?"

"No." Ron shook his head. "Sports are out…"

"Why?" Bobbi responded, "You're in shape."

"I'll say." Tara leered as Kim blushed.

"There's no reason you couldn't make any of the teams. You might not make the starting squad because you haven't played that much, but I think you can easily make it on the backup rosters." Bobbi remarked as Tara nodded her head in agreement; Kim staying notably silent.

"I'm a klutz." Ron answered back with a self-deprecating laugh. "I can't even keep my pants on during missions! Knowing my luck, I'd lose them in the middle of a game in front of a couple thousand people. No thanks!" Shaking his head, the blond teenager announced, "I got to get to class. See you all later!"

Watching as her boyfriend left, Tara shook her head, "He can make the team—I just know it!"

"It's like I said a few days ago." Bobbi replied, "He just lacks self-confidence."

"Ron's always been clumsy." Kim declared, "He's so enthusiastic on missions that he screws up without meaning to."

"That's because of adrenaline." Bobbi responded, _And lack of training_, she didn't say. "I have a feeling he gets so pumped up that he just acts without thinking."

"That's about the size of it." Kim replied, giving the blonde a curious look as her Kimmunicator beeped. "Yeah, Wade." Kim responded, "What's the sitch?"

Wade reported. "Something seems to be happening in Europe and I wanted to give you a heads up. I'll get back to you if we have a problem."

"Keep me updated, Wade." Kim replied. Turning to the other two girls, she remarked, "Gotta go now. See ya later."

"Catch you guys later too." Bobbi replied as she took off down the corridor in the opposite direction. Finding a secluded area, the blonde agent took out her cell phone and pushed the button that called up SHIELD. "Mockingbird here."

Fury's voice came through the cell phone speaker, "I have a mission for you and Barton. He'll meet you at the airport and brief you enroute. You'll be flying a quinjet."

"Understood." Bobbi responded, "I also need a background check done on someone."

"Who?"

"Senor Senior, Senior." Bobbi replied, barely holding in her laughter.

"Say again."

"Senor Senior, Senior." Bobbi repeated.

"Wait one." Fury replied and then came back a few moments later. "All right. Here's the quick and dirty. The name is an alias for a Colonel Augusto Avila. Spanish national. He was relatively high up in Franco's Falange party. During the war, the Nazis used Spain as a conduit to smuggle gold and precious works of art out of Europe just prior to the collapse of the Third Reich. Avila diverted some of that gold and art—enough to build a tidy fortune for himself. After the war, he built on that fortune to become one of the wealthiest men in Europe. With the death of Franco, he retired to a private island he purchased near the Cape Verdes and has remained relatively secluded coming out occasionally to meetings at an exclusive billionaire's club that we've been monitoring."

"Threat level?" Bobbi inquired.

"Until now, none." Fury answered back. "He just delivered a demand to the European Parliament that has upped his profile though. But, for now, we're letting Global Justice handle it. I've got something more important for you. Barton will fill you in."

"Understood." Bobbi replied. "Mockingbird out."

Arriving at the airport, Bobbi quickly passed through security to an isolated hangar. Driving towards the hangar, the blonde teen stopped at the gate and presented her student ID which also contained a small microchip identifying her as a SHIELD operative to the agent posing as an airport security officer. Nodding his head, the guard raised the gate and let her pass. Arriving at the hangar entrance, she parked her car next to Clint's Jeep and walked into the building. At once spotting the quinjet, the blonde let out a low whistle.

"Nice, ain't it."

"Sure is." Bobbi beamed, "A lot like the ones in my universe."

"Well…do the ones in your universe come with reflective shielding that makes them invisible?" Clint asked.

"Nope." Bobbi chuckled, "I don't think Tony's gotten around to it yet—although it wouldn't surprise me if he's been working on one. So, otherwise, how's it hanging, Clint?"

"Not bad. And you? Fitting in okay at school?"

"Surprisingly…yeah." Bobbi laughed, "Funny how the cliques and characters are about the same as when I went to high school the first time. You've got your mean girl and her little posse—her name's Bonnie. Little Miss Perfect—that would be Kim. The girl everyone gets along with—that's Tara. And the class clown—that's Ron. And of course you have the jocks and the cheerleaders and the geeks and the heads and so on and so forth."

"So…where are you in the pecking order?" Clint asked jokingly as the pair made their way to the quinjet.

"Something of a jock and probably a cheerleader soon." Bobbi responded with a snort.

"Cheerleader?" Clint laughed.

"Yeah." Bobbi chuckled as the pair entered the quinjet, taking seats in the back as the pilot taxied out of the hangar and down to the runway. After buckling up, she opened her backpack and took out her math book and a notebook. Seeing her partner's raised eyebrows, the blonde former Avenger rolled her eyes, "Geometry homework. Then I've got history and English."

Laughing, Clint joked, "Well…if you need help with your geometry…try someone else. I got a C when I took it."

"You're the best archer I've ever seen and you got a C in geometry?"

Barton smirked, "It's all instinct for me with the bow. I don't even think about it. Like you with your fighting sticks or bo-stave."

"Good point." Bobbi replied and then, all business, inquired, "So…what's the brief on our mission?"

"Our target is a arms deal on an island near the Cape Verdes." Clint declared, "The buyer is a terrorist group, the Red Tide, and we suspect the seller is this man." He handed over a photograph of a middle-aged man wearing a three piece suit and sunglasses. "His name is Howard Fuller and he's an intermediary for several legitimate arms dealers who need a go-between for more questionable deals."

"Like sales to terrorists." Bobbi exclaimed, "Do we know who he's working for here?"

"We think Hammer Industries." Clint responded.

"Figures." Bobbi grimaced. "So…we shut them down hard?"

"That's the plan." Hawkeye replied. "No innocents to worry about so the island is a free fire zone."

"Still need to go in sneaky." Bobbi commented, "They have home field advantage and very likely heavy weapons and we don't have any heavy hitters other than the quinjet providing backup for us and I'd rather not risk our ride back if I can help it."

"Right." The archer agreed, "We go in stealthy and take as many of them out as quietly as possible. Then we blow up any stockpiles on our way out."

"Sounds like a plan." Bobbi replied as she opened up the textbook and took out her notebook and pen. "Now…if you don't mind…I've got to get started on my homework."

"Get an A…" Clint teased, "And I'll buy you an ice cream cone."

"Make it a rum soaked cone and it's a deal." Bobbi joked back.

"We've got problems, Kim." Wade stated as his image appeared in Kim's Kimmunicator.

"What's the sitch?" Kim responded

"You remember that old guy you didn't thing was a problem?" Wade said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Yeah…"

"Well…" Wade reported, his voice maintaining its sardonic edge, "He's a problem. He's turned out all the lights in Western Europe and sent out a recording. Here…listen: An old man appeared on the screen reading from a script. _I will send Europe back to the Dark Ages unless it gives me their nice little islands. You have twelve hours to respond._

"We gotta go, Ron! A mission's come up!" Kim exclaimed as she grabbed her friend by the hand and dragged him off. "Wade? Can you score us a ride? Please and thank you."

"On it, Kim." As Kim and her sidekick made their way to their destination, courtesy of a jet chartered by yet another person who owed the young redhead a favor, Kim's Kimmunicator beeped.

"What's the sitch?"

"I just intercepted a Global Justice transmission. They're talking to these 'seniors' we've been hearing about."

"Let's hear it." Kim replied, her attention now riveted on the transmission.

"Okay…" Wade replied as his image faded away to be replaced by the Global Justice logo and another logo—this one of a stylized black eagle with wings outstretched in a circle.

"_Are you sure you have this, Director?" A male voice inquired. "We have agents close by if needed."_

"_We have it contained, Agent Coulson." A female voice responded. "Your people on scene have a bigger problem. Possible can handle it. She should already be on the way to deal with Senor Senior, Senior."_

"_Are you sure she can handle something like this? The male voice inquired, drawing a frown from Kim._

"_We have a strike team ready to go if she needs backup or extraction and you have your people in the area. I say let's give her a shot. She did a pretty good job taking out Drakken."_

"_I'll check with my boss." Coulson responded. After several moments, he again spoke, "Director Fury concurs. For now, the Seniors are Possible's baby, but we'll notify our agents to be ready to render assistance if necessary. I hope she's as good as you say she is, Betty. She's only going to get one shot at this."_

"_This is the first time Senior has done anything out of line since he retired at the end of the Franco regime." The female voice responded. "Possible can do this clean. Bring in your troubleshooters, and I'm afraid we'll get a body count and I'm hoping we can avoid that here. I don't want a Budapest. The Seniors just aren't that serious enough of a threat to justify sending in the Widow or Hawkeye and Mockingbird."_

"_That would be nice if she could take care of it quick and clean with no casualties." The man agreed, sounding a cautionary note, "Let's hope she can get the job done."_

"Why do I get the feeling we're looking at the tip of a very big iceberg." Kim sighed as their chartered ride took them close to the Seniors' island.

"I know what you mean." Ron replied in a hushed tone. "Who or what are these people? They seem to be Global Justice's bosses."

"Yeah." Kim agreed, "And who are Mockingbird and Hawkeye? And this Widow? They're obviously code names for agents."

"I wonder if this Mockingbird is the same one who took out those muggers and stopped that burglary in town." Ron speculated.

"Gotta be." Kim responded, "Wade picks up on a message saying that Mockingbird has arrived and is part of a 'senior' operation. Then a few days later, the police start to see those post-it notes stuck to knocked out muggers and crooks. And now, Mockingbird is teamed up with someone called Hawkeye to deal with this Red Tide and an arms stockpile. Like I said, the tip of a very big iceberg."

"And maybe a dangerous one, Kim." Ron cautioned. "We might want to be careful here. From what the Global Justice woman said about body counts, I'm getting the impression these people play for keeps."

"Yeah." Kim agreed as they arrived at their destination. "But for now, we need to take care of the Seniors before they do decide to send in a killer."

"So…Amelia runs up to me and calls me Brad Pitt…" Ron shook his head, "Three days ago, she didn't even know I existed."

"Ron!" Kim cautioned in a hushed voice, "We're supposed to be sneaking here."

"Sorry." Ron answered back, lowering his voice as well. "It's just that…forget it." He then dropped his voice even lower. "You wouldn't understand." His eyes then widened as he caught sight of Senior's improvements. "Holy shit!"

"Yeah." Kim whispered back, "Missile launchers. You had to tell him to get missile launchers!"

"I was just joking!" Ron protested, still talking softly, "You're blaming me because he took me seriously!"

"One hundred percent." Kim growled.

"Whatever you say, Miss Perfect." Ron grumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Ron whispered back. "Let's get going."

"We're at the drop point." The pilot said as he dropped the quinjet's rear door.

"See you groundside!" Mockingbird exclaimed as she jumped out of the plane followed closely behind by her partner.

Their parachutes opening on time, the pair completed their silent descent to the island, landing undetected. Quickly shedding their parachutes and jumpsuits, the two agents, Bobbi wearing her costume with mask and Clint in his leather vest and pants with bow and quiver full of regular and specialty arrows, slipped silently off the beach and into the dense undergrowth.

Wordlessly, the pair crept up on an observation post manned by a lone guard. Pointing at a guard walking down a trail beside the post, Bobbi signaled that she would take out the floating guard, holding up ten fingers.

Nodding his head in understanding, Hawkeye nocked an arrow to his bow and silently waited as his partner slipped into position behind the guard, counting down once she had reached her point. As he counted ten, the pair struck simultaneously with Hawkeye's arrow striking true through his target's throat while Mockingbird quietly and efficiently took out her victim with a garrote.

Meeting up at the observation post, Bobbi whispered, "Okay…that's two down. About a dozen or so more to go."

"The meet is supposed to take place near the center of the island." Clint declared as he looked up at the night sky. "I figure we've got about three hours of darkness left. We better move."

"Right behind you."

"Damn!" Ron gasped as he and Kim climbed to the roof of the Senior's lair. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah." Kim replied with a sharp edge to her voice, "That's how they're draining the power." Rolling up her sleeves, she growled, "Time to end this."

"Okay…" Ron nodded his head, "Fine. But how are we getting in?"

"I'm thinking through the front door." Kim replied as she approached the entrance and pressed the button next to the door. "Okay Senor Senior, Senior. Open up!

"That's the third patrol down." Bobbi whispered as her prey slid down to the ground, the victim of a single shot to the head from her silenced 10mm pistol. "We should be pretty close to the meet."

"I'd say it's happening in that clearing." Clint noted as the pair silently crept up.

"I'd say you're right, Hawk." Mockingbird agreed as she gazed at the sight before her. "There's Fuller." She said, pointing to a man wearing a khaki shirt and cargo pants with a pistol holstered at his hip.

"And that's Raheem Toval—he's a lieutenant in the Red Tide." Hawkeye identified. "Would have been nice to have tagged Gunnar…Gunnar Eriksson." The archer explained, "He's the leader. But he's too smart to make a personal appearance for a simple arms sale."

"Not so simple." Bobbi pointed out as her eyes focused on an alien-appearing rifle.

"Damn." Clint cursed, "That's old WW2 Hydra tech. Hammer Industries must have stumbled on an old Hydra stockpile from the war that Captain America and his commandoes didn't take out. We've always suspected there were a couple."

"Now we know." Mockingbird stated grimly.

"This job's just gotten more complicated." Clint grumbled, "We need to try to take Fuller alive for interrogation and we've got to either completely destroy those Hydra weapons or take them with us so that they could be sent on to Project Slingshot for disposal."

"We're not going to be able to do anything unless we take that mother over there out." Bobbi said, pointing to an armored car with what looked like Hydra heavy weapons mounted on an open turret. "That thing comes into play—we're fucked. Got any ideas?"

"Yeah." Barton grinned as outlined his scheme.

"You're crazy—you know that don't you?" Bobbi grinned.

"Yep." Clint grinned back.

"All right." Bobbi quipped, "Let's do it."

"Ah…Kim Possible!" Senior greeted with a smile as he leaned on his cane. "The book I read on world domination said that you'd be coming back."

"You actually got a lagoon?" Ron interjected, shaking his head. "I mean…really? I was just joking!"

"The piranha won't be here until Monday." Senior apologized, "But I assure you, the Koi haven't been fed."

"Well…" Kim quipped, "I guess we can add animal cruelty to the charges against you. By the way, have you gotten to the part in your book where you give yourself up?"

"No." Senior replied, 'But I have gotten to the part where I say it's too late for you to foil my evil plans."

Shaking her head, Kim caught a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, shouting, "Ron…dodge left!" Kim dodged to the right, both teens barely escaping being struck by a pair of laser beams.

"Lasers!" Kim then sidestepped a pressure plate as Ron accidently triggered another, causing a trapdoor to open. Jumping away just in time, the teenage boy gasped in relief as he saw the sharp spikes at the bottom of the pit.

"Traps too, Kim." Ron yelled as he dodged another laser bolt.

"Tell me something I don't already know!" Kim snapped back as she ducked and rolled.

"You've got a zit on your nose." Ron bit back with an edge to his voice as he closed on Junior while Kim edged closer to Senior.

"I've found the perfect target, Kim Possible!" Senior crowed, "Middleton! Junior! Launch the missile!"

"Ron!" Kim ordered, "Go after Junior! I'll take care of Senior."

"On it, KP!" Ron acknowledged

"Farewell, Kim Possible!" Senior cried out as he pressed a button unleashing his secret weapon, three spinning tops with sharp scythed blades.

"Spinning tops of doom!" Kim sighed, "I'm going to kill you when this is over, Ron!"

After ensuring that her earplugs were securely in place, Bobbi, hugging the shadows, carefully sneaked up to the armored car and, sliding under the vehicle, attached the limpet mine to its bottom. After setting the timer, she slipped back once again into the cover of the undergrowth as she crept up on a guard. Counting down to zero, she struck the man from behind, felling him with one blow from her fighting stick as she caught him in her arms and dragged him into the cover of the tall grass. Moving to her next target, she repeated the procedure until she reached her final position, close to where the two leaders were talking. Taking out a small device, she recorded their conversation.

"_I think you'll find everything in order." Fuller stated with a smarmy grin on his face as he opened a large suitcase._

_Taking an advanced tech rifle out of the suitcase, the other man, a swarthy man with a neatly trimmed beard and mustache carefully inspected it before pointing it at a cocoanut high up in a tree. Firing the weapon, he nodded his head in satisfaction as the beam of light emanating from the rifle shattered the cocoanut, along with the top of the tree._

"_Excellent!" Toval exclaimed as one of his henchmen stepped forward with a suitcase and opened it to reveal that its contents—neatly stacked one-hundred dollar bills. "Payment in full—as agreed. You can count it if you wish."_

"_That won't be necessary." Fuller replied, his voice tone carrying the faintest hint of warning, "I'm sure that your leader understands the importance of maintaining trust in a relationship such as ours. Now…that our business is concluded…_"

Before the arms dealer could finish his sentence, Hawkeye's arrow landed exactly in the middle of the gathering, at once emitting a loud high-pitched sonic wail. Several arrows quickly followed, downing Toval and four of his men before they could react.

As Hawkeye's arrows struck home, Mockingbird leaped into action, striking quickly, she knocked Fuller out with a single blow and dragged him back into the bush. Then, she struck again with a throwing knife, striking a terrorist in the back as the bomb planted under the armored car went off, the blast from the explosion setting off secondary explosions from the munitions stacked close by.

Removing her earplugs, Bobbi heard her partner's warning. "Grab Fuller and meet at the rendezvous point. I'll draw off any pursuit."

"Gotcha." Bobbi replied as she picked up her prisoner in a fireman's carry, dragging him off as another explosion, courtesy of one of Hawkeye's explosive arrows, shook the ground. Reaching the rendezvous point, Mockingbird, after setting her prisoner down, bound his hands and feet with twist-tie cuffs. Then, readying her pistol, she knelt down. "Come on, Clint. I don't have all night…"

His arrows striking true, Hawkeye took down the last of the terrorists pursuing him as he made his way to the meeting point, carrying with him a suitcase with the Hydra weapons. Finally arriving, he smiled in satisfaction as he noted his partner kneeling down nest to their hogtied prisoner. Taking out his comm device, he spoke, "Two birds ready for extraction. Have live prey and cargo for Slingshot."

"SHIELD-One en route. Hold tight, little birdies."

"Chirp…Chirp." Mockingbird teasingly replied as her partner and the quinjet pilot laughed.

Moments later, the quinjet arrived and picked up its passengers and cargo. As it lifted off, Clint instructed the pilot, "We've got a weapons cache at these coordinates. Can you take it out?"

"Not a problem." The pilot responded with a grin as a Hellfire missile took off from under the wing of the quinjet. Moments later, fire lit up the night sky as the missile impacted, vaporizing the weapons cache in a ball of flame.

"Don't know about you boys." Bobbi laughed as she took out a textbook and notebook and pen, "But I've still got my English homework to do. Then, when I get home, it's bubble bath and mimosa time."

"Calling the wife to say goodnight to her and the kids." Clint announced. "Patsy has her school play tomorrow, so since I'm not going to be able to be there, I'm going to do the next best thing. Make a vid-call and wish her luck."

"What about you?" Bobbi asked, speaking to the pilot, a handsome man in his early twenties with seal brown hair and an infectious grin.

"Gonna watch the football game on the DVR." The pilot replied with a grin. "Gotta root for my Broncos."

"You got a name?" Bobbi inquired.

"Yeah." The pilot answered back, "Rigby. Rigby Fallon."

"Well…" Bobbi smirked, "Good to meet you, Rigby Fallon. How're you in English?"

"Got an A in college." The handsome pilot joked back, "I'll help you out in exchange for your phone number."

Seeing her partner's sly grin and slight nod of approval as he took the copilot's seat, Bobbi laughed, "Sure. Why not."

"Why do I have to launch his stupid missiles?" Junior complained as he reached the launch console.

"Just step away from the console and you don't have to." Ron said as he leaped into action.

"No, you don't!" Junior shouted as he dodged Ron's kick and then swung into empty air as his opponent sidestepped the haymaker he'd launched.

His punch to the ribs connecting, Ron cried out as Junior, staggering from the impact, accidently punched the firing button, "Oh shit! You didn't!"

"Oh, yes I did!" Junior crowed.

"Oh…you're gonna pay for that!" Ron sneered as he launched into a flurry of blows driving his enemy back.

Racing to the console, Ron quickly pressed the self-destruct button, letting out a breath of air as a voice from the speaker declared that the missile had exploded in the air. "Thank God." The young man sighed in relief, then shook his head as he noticed that Junior had made his escape. "Hope Kim's having better luck."

As Ron and Junior battled, Kim waged an exhausting war against the spinning tops, barely sidestepping and dodging them until, smirking in triumph, she leaped up. Grabbing hold of a high-beam, the redheaded hero dropping down on top of one of the spinners, tilted its axis just enough to send it wobbling into one of its mates. Quickly diving off as the two tops collided, Kim dodged the third top just in time. Pulling out her grappling pistol, she fired at the top, her line catching the axis. Giving it a hard yank, the young teen managed to set it wobbling as well. Watching in satisfaction as it collided into a wall, Kim turned her attention to the would-be master villain.

"Damn. He's taken off." Kim cursed as Ron burst into the room.

"Kim!" Ron called out, "Junior set the missile off, but I managed to hit the self-destruct in time. Did you catch them?"

"No." Kim shook her head, "They got away." Forgetting that her partner had foiled the missile launch, Kim reproved, "Ron…you've got to be careful about what you say. I mean one little thing like Spinning Tops of Doom…"

"Or you need a new hairstyle." Ron bit back.

Lowering her head as she realized her mistake, Kim replied in a softer tone, "Yeah. Sorry. Maybe I should follow my own advice, Huh?"

"Let's table the discussion for now." Ron suggested as the pair exited the lair only to see Senior and Junior escaping by speedboat.

"Secret grotto and a speedboat." Kim snorted.

"From now on…" Ron vowed, "I'm keeping my big mouth shut."

"Let's get outta here." Kim said, wisely deciding to ignore the opening her friend had given her. Looking up, the young redhead gasped as she saw a contrail shoot out from under the wing of a plane. "Look, Ron!" She shouted as the contrail continued rapidly down to the neighboring island. Gasping in shock as she heard the explosion, she watched in rapt fascination as the sky lit up over the island, "I think we just found out what the 'seniors' were doing."

"Yeah." Ron replied in a soft voice, "Playing for keeps."

Now safe at home, Ron sat down on his couch, watching a movie with one arm wrapped around Tara as the pair cuddled up, and Rufus perched on top of his shoulder, carefully chaperoning the couple. After munching on the popcorn Tara had given him, the teen sidekick sighed.

"You okay, Ron?" Tara asked in a soft whisper.

"Yeah." Ron replied as he gently caressed his girlfriend. "I was just thinking about the last mission."

"It went well—didn't it?" The blonde cheerleader asked.

Nodding his head, Ron answered back, "Yeah, but it almost seemed like Kim was trying to pick a fight with me a couple of times."

"How so?"

"She kept riding me about giving Senior ideas about becoming a villain…" Ron shook his head.

Tara let out a breath of air, "You were just joking—anyone with any smarts could have seen that. You couldn't help it if the guy was crazy, bored, or stupid enough to take you literally."

"Yeah." Ron smiled as he gave his girlfriend a kiss, "You're right. So…" He asked with a grin, "Like the old hairstyle or you want me to go back to Francois?"

"Don't you dare change it." Tara answered back with a smile. "I like the old Ron just fine. Now…pass me the popcorn."

"I will for a kiss"

Handing over the popcorn in exchange for a kiss, Ron shook his head and chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Tara asked with a smirk.

"I still have to find an extracurricular." Ron replied. "Maybe I could try out for cheerleading?"

"Hmmm." Tara mulled over the idea, "I think you can do it physically, but I'm not so sure about the moves. You haven't cheered before and that'll hurt you."

"Yeah." Ron agreed as he spoke in a dejected tone of voice, "I'd just make a fool of myself—again."

Inspiration striking, his blonde girlfriend suggested, "What about trying out as school mascot?"

"Yeah!" Rufus exclaimed, instantly approving of his new mistress's idea.

Nodding his head as he gave the idea careful consideration, Ron replied, "Yeah. I think it could work."

"Great!" Tara responded. "I'll get with Bobbi, Courtney and Maria and we'll help you put together a mascot's costume. It should be done by cheerleader tryouts."

"You know…" Ron smiled as he hugged Tara closer to him, "I'm glad you decided to go out with me."

"Have you ever seen this before, Dad?" Kim asked as she handed her father a drawing of the stylized black eagle in a circle that she had gotten from Wade.

As he glanced at the drawing, James's let out a breath of air before speaking. "That's a SHIELD logo, Kimmie-cub. Where did you run into that?"

Wade intercepted a Global Justice transmission where someone with GJ was talking to a man she called Agent Coulson." Kim explained, "He couldn't get into the SHIELD network…"

"He wouldn't be able to.' James interrupted, "And if he's trying—he needs to stop—now!"

"What do you mean, Dad?" A now alarmed Kim responded.

"Kimmie-cub…" James replied in a gentle, paternal tone that also contained an edge of warning, "SHIELD is a very secretive government agency. It stands for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. Global Justice answers to them."

"That would explain why Global Justice calls them the 'seniors'." Kim interjected.

"Right." James affirmed, "I've dealt with them a time or two at work as a consultant—don't ask me what about because I can't tell you. What I can tell you is that they take their security very seriously and don't pull any punches. Did you hear any other names mentioned?"

"Yeah." Kim answered back, "A Director Fury…why…is he important?"

"Yes. Very." James replied with a grim expression on his face, "He's in charge of SHIELD. I met him once. Scared the crap out of me. Forget you heard those names, Kimmie-cub, and tell Ron and Wade to do the same."

"You're scaring me, Dad."

"Good." James responded, "Because I'm deadly serious here. While SHIELD are the good guys and they do protect us from some very bad stuff and bad people, they're very ruthless about it. They do not follow the same rules you do. You do not want to get in their way, and you do not want them as enemies. Promise me Kimmie-cub that you'll do what I say here."

"All right, Dad." Kim responded, "I promise. I'll do what you say, and I'll pass the word on to Ron and Wade."

"Thank you, honey!" James sighed in relief as he hugged his daughter tightly. "I don't want my Kimmie-cub getting hurt."

As she hugged her father, a single thought remained in Kim's mind, refusing to leave, _I have to know more about this SHIELD. Who are they? What is their purpose? And why did they blow up an island?_

Luxuriating in her tub, Bobbi took a sip of her mimosa as she let the hot water and bubbles soothe her tired muscles. Smiling, she closed her eyes, falling into a blissful state of semi-wakefulness until her cell phone rang. Her smile turning into a wicked grin as her caller ID displayed the name on the other end, she answered the phone, "Hey, Rigby. What's up?"

"I scored two tickets to the Broncos-Chiefs game this weekend and thought that maybe you'd like to come with." The young pilot tempted, "Tail-gate party before the game. Brewskis…grilled sausages…"

"Mmmm…" Bobbi replied, "Sounds good. I'm in."

"Great!" Rigby answered back, "I'll pick you up at your place…"

"Better make it the airport." Bobbi interjected, "Clint's supposed to be my cover-boyfriend. I don't want anyone at school to think I'm cheating on him."

"Okay." The pilot responded. "Meet you at the airport then. Sunday at noon?"

"It's a date. See ya then."

Setting her phone down, Bobbi took another sip of her mimosa, "I'm sorry Clint." She said in a soft tone, apologizing to her husband several universes away, "But I have to face facts. I'm never going to see you again—and even if I did, as far as you're concerned, I'd be just a sixteen year old girl. It's time for me to build a life here." She then picked up the phone and hit the speed dial.

"Hey Clint? Can we talk for a second?"

"Sure." The voice at the other end responded.

"How do you feel about me cheating on you?" She asked in a joking voice.

"Oh…so Rigby called you and asked you out, Huh?"

"Sure did." Bobbi laughed

"Good. I'm glad he took my advice and called." Barton responded with a laugh, explaining, "I figure it has to be lonely for you here, and the boys at the school—well—they're boys and I know that you wouldn't be happy unless you were with a man. Those boys could never relate to what you had to do on that island, and I have a feeling they'd just bore you to tears anyway. And, you seemed to have gotten along pretty well with Rigby on the flight back. So, when he asked me if he should call you…"

"Thanks, Clint." Bobbi interrupted. "You get a big kiss from me when we meet up again."

"Anytime, Bobbi." The archer responded, "Partners look after each other. Goodnight."

"Goodnight yourself. And say goodnight to the wife and kids from me."

"Yep." Bobbi said as she laid back in her tub and sipped her mimosa, "Sometimes things work out for the good."


End file.
